1 

^^Ms 

H 
9 

HISTORY 


OF  THE 


rREICH  REVOLUTIOI, 


ITS 


CAUSES  AND  CONSEQUENCES. 


BY 


F.  MACLEAN  ROWAN. 


'  Da  veulent  etre  litres  et  ils  ne  savent  pas  etre  justes." — Sibteb. 


VOL.  I; 


NEW-YORK : 

D.   APPLETON   &   COMPANY, 

846  &  848  BROADWAY. 

M.DCCC.UV. 


PREFACE. 


In  the  little  work  here  presented  to  the  public, 
the  faults  of  the  people  are  more  insisted  upon  than 
those  of  the  rulers,  because  it  is  written  for  the 
former,  not  for  the  latter ;  and  because,  if  the  latter 
have  a  lesson  to  learn  from  history,  the  former  have 
a  still  greater  one,  and  one  that,  if  well  learned  by 
them,  will  suffice  for  both.  Despotism  and  tyranny 
are  almost  impossible  evils  in  our  day,  but  the  love 
of  liberty  is  so  great,  that  the  important  task  now 
is  to  enlighten  and  to  regulate  that  love,  so  that,  in 
their  headlong  career  for  the  attainment  of  a  good, 
the  people  place  not  themselves  in  the  way  of  the 
very  evils  they  seek  to  avoid.  They  have  to  learn, 
that  for  nations  as  for  individuals,  happiness  de- 
pends upon  virtue  and  wisdom,  and  that  therefore 
liberty,  which  is  happiness,  does  not  mean  merely 
freedom  from  restraint,  and  cannot  be  attained 
through  crimes. 

There  is  not  pmrhaps  m  bi§J(JiX^  more  striking 

VOL.  I.  X^   /  ^1^^,0 


6  PREFACE. 

example  of  how  incompatible  liberty  is  with  cor- 
ruption,  than  that  period  of  the  French  Revolution, 
the  Reign  of  Terror,  when  every  citizen*  in  the 
state,  without  exception,  had  the  right  of  voting, 
and  was  thus  considered  represented,  and  when  the 
representatives  of  the  people  presented  the  most 
hideous  assembly  of  vicious  tyrants  and  despots 
which  the  world  has  ever  witnessed. 


*  This  word  is  here  used  in  its  usual  acceptation,  thongh 
nothing  can  be  farther  from  the  proper  idea  of  the  duties  of 
citizenship,  than  the  notions  and  practice  of  the  French  of 
that  day. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAua 

Introductory  Sketch  ofi^he  early  History  cf  France— Louis 

XIV 11 

CHAPTER  II. 

Regency— General  depravity  of  the  Court— State  of  the  Fi- 
nances—Fraudulent transactions— Infamous  measures 
—System  of  Law— Brilliant  prospects— Reverse  of  the 
picture— Dubois— Death  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans— His 
rule  a  disastrous  period  for  France— French  Literature 
—Voltaire— Duke  de  Bourbon— Fleury— Bull  Unigeni- 
tus — Parliament  exiled — Stanislas — Treaty  of  Vienna  .    26 

CHAPTER  III. 

War — Madame  de  Pompadour— The  Savans — Schools  of 
Philosophy— The  Noblesse— The  Clergy— The  People 
—The  Middle  Classes— The  Jansenists— Contests  be- 
tween the  Parliament  and  the  Archbishop  of  Paris — 
Interference  of  the  King— War  with  England  in  North 
America         .....  ...    39 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Rising  importance  of  France  as  a  Nation — The  Philoso- 
phers— BUnd  security  of  the  Government — Fall  of  the 
Jesuits — Death  of  the  Dauphin— State  of  the  Finances — 
Marriage  of  Louis  with  Marie  Antoinette — Suppression 
of  the  Parliaments — Misery  of  the  People — Facte  de 
Famine- Death  of  Louis  XV 50 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

FAOK 

Accession  of  Louis  XVI. — His  Ciiaracter — Maurepas — Tur- 
got  —  His  projected  Reforms — Reinstatement  of  the 
Parliament — Turgot's  Measures — His  Colleagues — Ma- 
rie Antoinette — Riots  in  Paris — Turgot's  Dismissal — 
Joseph  II 61 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Necker — War  between  England  and  her  American  Colo- 
nies—  FrankUn  —  Enthusiasm  in  his  favor  —  War- 
Compte  rendu  of  Necker— His  resignation — Calonne — 
Growing  hatred  of  the  People  to  the  Court  and  the 
Queen — Prodigality  of  the  Court — The  Diamond  Neck- 
lace— Convocation  of  the  Notables — Ruinous  state  of 
the  Finances — Dismissal  of  Calonne — Brienne — Con- 
tentions in  the  Parliament — Which  is  exiled  to  Troyes 
— Recalled — Duke  of  Orleans — Struggles  between  the 
Government  and  the  Parhament — Convocation  of  the 
States-General        .        .  .  .        .    71 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  States-General — Ruinous  Financial  Measures  of  Bri- 
enne— His  Resignation — Necker — His  Popularity — Dis- 
cussions on  the  formation,  &c.,  of  the  Ttates-General — 
Misery  of  the  People— Commotions — Opening  of  the 
States-General — Dissensions  between  the  three  Etats 
— National  Assembly — Royal  Sitting — General  Revo- 
lutionary Agitation 88 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Deliberations  of  the  National  Assembly — Constitution  of 
France— General  Agitation — Disaffection  of  the  Sol- 
diers— Dismissal  of  Necker — Outbursts  of  the  Revolu- 
tionists in  consequence — Paris  in  the  hands  of  the  Mob 
—Taking  of  the  Bastille— Dreadful  Cruelties— The  Aa- 


CONTENTS.  9 

FACE 

eembly  and  the  King— Mirabeau's  Speech— Reconciia- 
tion  between  the  King  and  the  Assembly— Deputation 
of  Members  to  Paris— The  King  goes  to  Paris— Returns 
to  Versailles— Murder  ofM.  de  Foulon  and  his  Son-in- 
law — Emigration 107 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Recall  of  Necker— InabiUty  of  the  Assembly  to  govern— 
Disturbances  throughout  France— Frightful  Atrocities 
committed  by  the  Peasantry— Proceedings  of  the  Na- 
tional Assembly— Despoiling  of  the  Privileged  Classes- 
Desecration  of  the  Churches— Dissent  of  the  King  use- 
less—Declaration of  Rights— The  Assembly  iniimida- 
ted  by  the  Mob— State  of  Paris— Dismal  Prospects  for 
France— Military  Banquet  — Dreadful  Tumult  — The 
Mob  proceeds  to  Versailles— Deputation  to  the  King — 
The  Palace  forced  by  the  Mob— Danger  of  the  Queen 
—The  Royal  Family  taken  to  Paris      .        .        .        .123 

CHAPTER  X. 

Emigration  of  many  of  the  Deputies— The  National  Assem- 
bly holds  its  Sittings  at  the  Tuileries— Martial  Law  pro- 
claimed— Formation  of  the  New  Constitution — Finan- 
cial Embarrassments  — Extraordinary  Proposition  of 
Necker — Supported  by  Mirabeau — Appropriation  of  the 
Property  of  the  Church— Assignais— State  of  Parties— 
The  Clubs .        .  140 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Reports  of  Counter-Revolutions — Disaffection  of  the  com- 
mon soldiers— The  King  appears  at  the  Assembly — His 
speech  received  with  universal  applause — Distrust  again 
exhibited— Execution  of  Favras — Counter-revolution- 
ary projects — Debates  in  the  Assembly — Civil  Consti- 
tution of  the  Clergy — F6te  in  the  Champ  de  Mars — 


10  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Revolt  in  the  Army — Clergy  required  to  swear  to  main- 
tain the  Civil  Constitution iast  decreed — The  King  com- 
pelled at  length  to  sanction  this  decree — Opposition  of 
the  Clergy — Mortification  of  the  King  ....  15G 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  King  secretly  solicits  the  aid  of  Foreign  Powers — Pro- 
ject of  Mirabeau — His  Death — The  King  not  allowed 
to  go  to  St.  Cloud — His  Remonstrance — Secret  Con- 
vention with  Foreign  Powers — Flight  of  the  King  and 
Queen — Discovered  and  Arrested— The  Royal  Family 
brought  back  to  Paris — Decree  of  the  Assembly— An- 
swer of  the  King  to  the  Commissaries  deputed  by  the 
Assembly — Republican  Agitation — Decree  preserving 
just  the  Shadow  of  Monarchy — Riots  at  the  Champ  de 
Mats — National  Guards  fire  upon  the  People — Former 
Idols  now  execrated — Treaty  of  Pilnitz — Preparations 
for  War— The  Constitution  completed — The  King  ac- 
cepts it — Dissolution  of  the  Assembly    .       .  .  IM 


HISTORY 


OF 


THE    FRENCH   REVOLUTION. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Introductory  Sketch  of  the  early  History  of  France — Louis  XIV. 

Every  one  who  has  taken  a  view  of  the  French  Re- 
volution of  1789,  must  have  felt  that  deeds  such  as  those 
it  gave  rise  to,  and  national  phrensy  such  as  it  gave  evi- 
dence of,  could  only  be  the  consequences  of  centuries  of 
corruption ;  and  every  writer  on  these  events  has,  there- 
fore, sought  in  history  to  trace  the  causes  that  could 
produce  such  lamentable  results. 

Strange  that  though  all  have  gone  back  to  search  for 
the  origin  of  evil,  none  (or  at  least  very  few)  have  done 
so  to  search  for  that  good,  the  departure  from  which 
must  be  the  origin  of  evil,  and  the  remnants  of  which 
must  have  been  the  principle  of  vitality,  which  prevented 
entire  destruction.  When  societies  are  first  formed  by 
a  number  of  individuals,  renouncing  some  of  their  nat- 
ural and  individual  rights  in  order  the  more  securely  to 
enjoy  the  rest,  all  men  are  in  the  same  condition,  and 
the  regulations  they  enter  into  are  consequently  such  as 
shall  ensure  the  same  benefits  to  all.*  But  the  very 
means  for  doing  this,  become  the  means  for  the  few  tc 

benefit  themselves  at  the  expense  of  the  many,  and  the 

1 _ 

*  I  do  not  mean  to  eay  that  this  is  done  dehberately  and  with  full  con- 
sciousness, but  it  is  the  result  of  existing  circumstances,  and  probably  also 
of  those  instincts  of  order  and  justice,  of  which  man  received  the  stamp 
upon  his  soul,  when  he  was  made  in  the  image  of  God. 


12  mTRODUCTORY    SKETCH. 

liberty  of  the  people,  therefore,  at  later  periods  becomes 
dependent  upon  the  degree  of  the  primitive  feeling  of 
individual  rights,  harmonized  with  the  good  of  all,  which 
is  still  extant  among  them.  The  existence  of  this  feel- 
ing must  again  be  dependent  upon  the  extent  to  which 
the  institutions  which  were  originally  planned  for  the 
maintenance  of  liberty  are  kept  up.*  But  in  our  times 
it  has  been  forgotten  that  liberty  can  only  exist  where  a 
nation  understands  its  own  affairs,  and  that  where  this 
<6  the  case,  revolution  is  out  of  the  question. 

Since  the  French  Revolution  spread  its  pernicious 
doctrines  in  the  world,  the  idea  of  liberty  has,  in  almost 
all  minds,  been  connected  with  change,  and  novelty,  and 
revolution  has  become,  as  it  were,  the  necessary  and 
only  means  for  the  attainment  of  liberty.  Simplicity 
and  stability  have  not  been  thought  of,  as  having  the 
least  connection  with  liberty  ;  therefore  has  there  been 
no  searching  for  it  in  the  ancient  institutions  of  the  na- 
tions, but  in  the  theories  and  speculations  of  philosophers ; 
as  if  freedom  were  an  abstract  idea,  and  not  a  state  of 
being. 

Some  writers  have  sought  for  the  causes  of  the  French 
Revolution  in  the  character  of  the  people,  which,  accord- 
ing to  them,  has,  throughout  its  history,  evinced  itself  in 
the  same  way ;  that  is,  whenever  the  people  of  France 
has  had  any  share  of  power,  either  legally  or  illegally 
obtained,  the  result  has  been  anarchy  and  bloodshed. 
But  this  seems  a  very  arbitrary  and  superficial  way  of 
deciding  the  matter,  for  though  it  must  be  admitted  that 
races,  as  individuals,  have  inherent  qualities  and  tenden- 


*  There  lias  never  been  a  free  nation  which  has  not  had  in  its  natural  con- 
Btitution  germs  of  liberty  as  ancient  as  itself;  and  nations  have  never  effica 
ciously  attempted  to  develop,  by  their  fundamental  written  laws,  other  right* 
♦.ban  those  that  existed  in  their  natural  constitution. — De  Maistrk. 


INTRODUCTORY    SKKTCH  13 

eies,  still  these  qualities  and  tendencies  can  be  modified 
and  even  destroyed  by  outward  circumstances,  and  oth- 
ers be  planted  in  their  place.     When  races  divide  into 
nations,  these  nations,  though  springing  from  the  same 
source,  then  develop  a  different  individuality,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  minds  of  the  founders  and  the  first 
lawgivers  of  nations  give  their  own  individual  stamp  to 
the  people.     Certain  it  is,  that  the  histories  of  France 
and  England,  two  nations  sprung  from  the  same  source, 
present  a  remarkable  contrast.     While  in  England  the 
Teutonic  race  goes  on  for  centuries,  developing  its  ad- 
mirable institutions  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
times,  in  France  these  institutions  are  deteriorated  by 
intermixture  with  foreign  alloy,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
race  changes.     The  struggles  through  which  every  na- 
tion has  to  pass  in  the  progress  of  its  development,  in 
England,  under  all  their  various  forms,  have  always  ex- 
hibited a  decided  tendency  towards  liberty,  that  is,  to- 
wards the  establishing  and   guarantying  of  the  rights 
of  all  classes  of  the  community ;  while  in  France  these 
struggles  have  always  been  for  power,  for  immunity  from 
the  burdens  of  the  state,  not  for  equal  partition  of  them. 
First,  we  have  the  immediate  descendants  of  Clovis 
contending  for  universal  power  ;  then  the  mayors  of  the 
palace  usurping  the  place  of  their  masters,  and  aiming 
at  even  more  extensive  power  and  dominion.     During 
this  time  the  history  of  France  presents  a  frightful  pic- 
ture of  crimes,  treason,  invasions,  and  wars.     But  still 
a  kind  of  superstitious  reverence  seemed  attached  to  the 
person  of  the  sovereign ;   a  remnant,  perhaps,  of  the 
spirit  of  those  simple  ages  when  men  revered  in  their 
governors  the  representatives  of  their  own  unity,  and 
the  sanctity  of  their  laws.     However  debased  in  power, 
the   sovereign  was  allowed  to  retain  his  station,  and 
VOL.  I.  2 


14  CHARLEMAGNE. 

when  Pepin  became  ambitious  of  joining  the  dignity  of 
monarch  to  the  reality  of  power  which  he  had  long  pos- 
sessed, he  was  obliged  to  sanctify  the  deed  by  the  appro- 
bation of  the  Pope,  and  the  whole  people. 

His  son,  Charlemagne,  found  himself  master  of  one 
of  the  greatest  empires  of  the  world.  This  great  mon- 
arch, one  of  those  master-minds  that  seem  to  suffice  for 
all  things,  and  in  whom  were  combined  the  conqueror 
and  the  legislator,  that  is,  the  destroyer  and  the  builder, 
laid  no  sound  foundation  however  to  his  edifice  ;  he  com- 
menced that  system  of  centralization,  to  which  may, 
perhaps,  be  attributed  the  political  incapacity  of  the 
people  of  France,  who,  losing  by  degrees  even  the  tra- 
ditions of  that  self-government  which  they  had  enjoyed 
in  more  barbarous  ages,  when  they  attained  power  knew 
not  how  to  use  it  for  the  attainment  of  liberty ;  for 
though  power  in  a  monarch  may  destroy  the  liberty  of  the 
people,  power  (or  rather,  freedom  from  restraint)  regained 
by  that  people,  is  not  sufficient  to  re-establish  liberty. 

When  under  the  feeble  successors  of  Charlemagne 
the  power  of  the  sovereign  again  declined,  it  was  not 
the  people,  but  the  subordinate  lords  of  the  state,  who 
caught  it  as  it  fell  from  their  hands  ;  and  while  in  Eng- 
land the  feudal  system  introduced  by  the  conquering 
nation,  was  by  a  powerful  sovereign  at  once  grafted  on, 
and  made  to  harmonize  with  the  free  institutions  of  his 
new  subjects,  in  France  it  arose  out  of  the  weakness  of 
the  monarch,  and  became  as  it  were  the  establishing  of 
anarchy  as  a  permanent  system.  Every  petty  lord  be- 
came the  sovereign  despot  in  his  own  dominions.  The 
difference  between  the  king  and  his  vassals  was  in  dig- 
nity rather  than  in  actual  power. 

From  this  time  even  the  form  of  national  assemblies, 
(\vhich,  a  remnant  of  the  ancient  liberty  of  the  Teutonic 


HUGH   CAPET.  15 

race,  had  been  kept  up  until  about  seventy  years  after 
Charlemagne)  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  royal  coun- 
cil then  became  composed  only  of  barons,  tenants  in 
chief,  prelates,  and  household  officers.  The  great  vas- 
sals of  the  crown  acted  for  themselves  in  their  own 
dominions,  assisted  by  similar  councils,  and  the  kings 
iiad  not  the  power  of  enforcing  laws  in  the  domains  of 
their  vassals.  Whenever  they  were  desirous  of  making 
a  general  regulation  they  were  obliged  to  enter  into  an 
agreement  with  their  vassals  for  the  purpose. 

Every  kind  of  misfortune,  says  a  French  historian, 
fell  at  once  upon  France.  The  throne  and  the  altar, 
laws  and  truth,  duties  and  religion,  were  all  swallowed 
up  in  the  gulf  of  anarchy.  Individual  interests  strug- 
ghng  violently  with  the  general  interest,  produced  a 
monstrous  mixture  of  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  govern- 
ment and  ancient  discipline.  The  bishops,  following  the 
example  of  the  temporal  lords,  shook  off  the  yoke  of 
obedience,  and  having  made  themselves  dukes  and 
counts,  were  engrossed  by  their  ambitious  plans,  and  the 
necessity  of  defending  themselves  by  arms  :  consider- 
ing their  flocks,  not  as  souls  for  which  they  were  to  an- 
swer before  God,  but  as  slaves  upon  whom  tbey  could 
trample  as  despots. 

The  degenerate  descendants  of  Pepin  and  Charle- 
magne were  in  their  turn  succeeded  by  one  of  their  vas- 
sals, Hugh  Capet ;  who,  by  uniting  to  the  crown  domains 
several  considerable  fiefs,  as  well  as  by  his  personal 
qualities,  again  restored  some  of  the  ancient  power  of 
the  crown  :  and  thenceforward  the  sovereigns,  having 
legained  a  position,  were  constant  in  endeavors  to  ex- 
tend their  own  power,  and  to  curb  that  of  their  vas- 
sals. For  this  end  they  conferred  privileges  upon  the 
uowns.    National  assemblies,  comprising  the  third  estate, 


16 


THE  PARLIAMENT  OF  PARIS. 


or  the  Commons,  were  again  convoked,  but  so  often  abus- 
ed and  wasted  the  power  thus,  given  to  them,  that  these 
assemblies  frequently  ended  in  bloodshed  and  riot. 

Though  these,  as  well  as  other  free-sounding  institu- 
tions, thenceforward  appear  regularly  in  the  history  of 
France,  it  is  the  power  of  the  crown  that  goes  on  in- 
creasing, not  the  liberty  of  the  people ;  and  whenever 
comparative  order  and  prosperity  bless  the  land,  it  seems 
rather  the  free  gift  of  the  sovereign  than  the  result  of 
the  comprehension  of  the  citizens  of  their  rights,  and  of 
their  exertions  for  the  attainment  of  that  which  might 
ensure  the  enjoyment  of  them. 

The  earliest  records  we  have  of  the  parliaments  of 
France  do  not  reach  beyond  the  twelfth  century,  in  the 
reign  of  Louis  VI.  The  parliament  of  Paris  is  gener- 
ally considered  the  most  ancient,  though  it  is  probable 
the  other  principalities  had  institutions  of  a  similar  kind, 
at  a  period  almost  as  remote.  This  body  was  originally 
ambulatory,  following  the  king's  court  wherever  it  went, 
until  the  reign  of  Philip  le  Bel,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  when  it  became  fixed  at  Paris.  Since 
that  time  it  was  rarely  removed,  and  that  only  on  some 
very  extraordinary  occasions.  Thenceforward  it  nf.et  at 
regular  periods,  twice  in  the  year,  until,  under  the  reign 
of  Charles  VI.,  at  the  close  of  the  same  century,  it  be- 
came perpetual. 

The  parliament  was  considered  chiefly  as  a  judicial 
court,  but  it  had  other  functions,  which,  as  the  royal  au- 
thority gradually  encroached  upon  its  privileges,  became 
of  scarcely  any  importance.* 

*  The  most  important  privilege  vested  in  the  Parhament  as  a  constitu- 
tional body,  was  the  right  to  examine  the  laws  presented  to  it  by  the  king 
before  registering  them,  which  was  one  of  its  functions,  and  to  protest  against 
them  in  case  they  were  not  in  accordance  with  the  fundamental  statutes  of 
the  realm.    This  right  beceme  an  empty  sound  at  a  later  period,  when  the 


THE    STATES-GENERVL.  17 

As  the  judicial  business  increased,  it  was  found  ne- 
cessary to  admit  lawyers  into  the  parliament,  who  thence 
by  degrees  took  a  higher  position.  From  the  reign  of 
St.  Louis,  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  they 
began  to  form  a  powerful  class  in  the  community,  being 
favored  by  the  kings,  who  wished  by  this  new-created 
noblesse  de  robe  to  counterbalance  the  power  of  the  no- 
blesse de  Vepee. 

The  most  revolting  acts  of  injustice  under  the  forms 
of  law,  were,  however,  perpetrated  in  the  reigns  of  the 
successors  of  Louis  IX.,  (St.  Louis,)  and  the  parliament 
was  powerless  to  remedy  the  frightful  evils  under  which 
the  country  was  suffering. 

Louis  XL,  with  a  firm  hand  and  an  indomitable  will, 
but  often  by  base  means,  re-established  order  and  power 
in  the  empire ;  but  his  system  was  that  of  absolutism, 
and  though  the  great  were  curbed,  the  people  did  not 
obtain  more  liberty. 

In  the  assembly  of  the  States-General,  convoked  in 
1484,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  VIII. ,  the  Commons  took 
a  prominent  part,  and  some  burst  of  popular  feeling  might 
then  have  afforded  a  hope  that  the  people  were  becom- 
ing better  acquainted  with  their  rights.  Philip  Pot,  the 
deputy  from  Burgundy,  made  a  very  remarkable  speech, 
in  which  were  the  germs  of  a  republican  spirit  very  un- 
usual in  those  days.  "  In  the  beginning,"  said  he,  "  the 
sovereign  people  created  kings  by  its  suffrage.  Princes 
are  appointed  not  in  order  to  enrich  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  the  people,  but,  forgetting  their  own  inter- 
ests, to  enrich  the  state,  and  promote  the  public  welfare 
....  I  include  in  the  term  people,  not  merely  the  pop- 
kings  usurped  tlie  power  oi  forcing  the  registering  of  their  decrees  in  a  bed 
of  justice.  Where  is  the  liuman  institution  which  can  prevent  a  corrupt 
people  from  bemg  enslaved  ■? 

2* 


18  RICHELIEU. 

ulace  or  only  the  subjects  of  the  kingdom,  but  men  of 
every  class,  even  the  princes."* 

These  fine  principles,  however,  were  perhaps  merely 
declamatory  words  for  him  who  uttered  them,  as  well  as 
for  those  who  heard  them ;  the  nation,  accustomed  to  be 
governed,  was  incapable  of  governing  itself,  and  this 
convocation  of  the  States-General  ended  without  bring- 
ing any  accession  of  liberty  to  the  people. 

During  the  next  reign,  that  of  Louis  XII.,  the  laws 
did  not  oppress,  but  protected  the  people,  and  the  king 
sought  out  the  ablest  and  best  men  to  fill  the  courts,  so 
that  justice  should  be  administered  impartially;  but 
nothing  was  done  towards  giving  the  nation  constitu- 
tional rights.  The  long  series  of  civil  and  religious 
wars  which  succeeded,  and  extended  over  the  whole  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  exhausted  the  country  and  weak- 
ened the  royal  authority,  but  nothing  had  been  gained 
for  the  liberty  of  the  lower  classes.  When  the  reign  of 
Henry  lY.  at  length  restored  religious  peace  to  the  coun- 
try, rigorous  laws  and  heavy  taxes  still  oppressed  the 
people. 

Louis  XIII.,  or  rather  his  minister  Richelieu,  who 
reigned  in  his  name,  destroyed  the  power  and  independ- 
ence of  the  nobiliiy,  but  the  state  of  the  people  continued 
to  be  miserable,  the  finances  were  exhausted,  and  indus- 
try and  commerce  neglected.  The  active  spirit  of  the 
nation,  paralyzed  by  suffering,  seemed  only  to  revive  for 
factious  struggles. 

The  words  of  Mazarin  addressed  to  the  deputies  of  the 
parliament  of  Paris  during  the  minority  of  Louis  XIV 
ehow  what  were  the  pretensions  of  the  crown  at  that 
period.     The  parliament,  the  chambre  des  comptes,  the 
cour  des  aides,  and  the  grand  conseil,  had  signed  an 

*  Masselin.  Lavallee. 


THE    WAR  OP   THE    FRONDE.  19 

arret  (Tunion,  which  caused  some  anxiety  to  the  minis- 
ter, who  having  ordered  the  deputies  of  the  parliament 
to  appear  before  him,  declared  to  them  that  the  queen 
regent  could  not  allow  such  arrets.  The  magistrates 
answered,  that  there  was  nothing  in  this  arret  contrary 
to  the  service  of  the  king.  "  If  the  king,"  replied  Ma- 
zarin,  "  did  not  choose  that  you  should  wear  gold  lace 
upon  your  collars,  it  would  be  necessary  to  discontinue 
wearing  it,  for  it  is  not  so  much  the  thing  forbidden,  as 
it  is  the  fact  that  it  is  forbidden,  which  constitutes  the 
crime." 

The  war  of  the  Fronde,  which  was  the  result  of  this 
manifestation  of  arbitrary  power,  also  proves  that  the 
spirit  of  the  nobility  was  not  yet  broken,  though  it  was  on 
this  occasion  again  obliged  to  submit  to  the  superior  power 
of  the  crown.  At  this  time  (1660)  peace  was  established 
throughout  Europe.  The  Stuarts  were  again  restored 
to  the  throne  of  England,  and  monarchy  was  universally 
triumphant.  It  was  a  solemn  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Europe.  "  Royalty,  freed  from  its  ancient  shackles,  be- 
came everywhere  almost  absolute.  In  France,  in  Spain, 
in  the  greater  number  of  the  States  of  the  Germanic 
empire,  it  had  subdued  the  feudal  aristocracy,  and  ceased 
to  protect  the  liberty  of  the  commons,  no  longer  having 
occasion  to  oppose  them  to  other  enemies.  The  no- 
bility, {la  haute  noblesse,)  as  if  it  had  lost  the  feeling  of 
its  defeat,  pressed  around  the  throne,  almost  proud  of 
the  renown  of  its  conqueror.  The  middle  classes,  (la 
bourgeoisie,)  scattered  and  of  a  timid  spirit,  while  en- 
joying the  growing  order,  and  a  welfare  until  then  un- 
known, labored  to  enrich  and  enlighten  themselves,  but 
as  yet  without  aspiring  to  take  part  in  the  gov^ernment 
of  the  state.  Everywhere  the  pomp  of  the  courts,  the 
promptitude  of  the  administration,  proclaimed  the  pre- 


20  LOUIS    THE    FOURTEENTH. 

ponderance  of  the  royal  power.  The  belief  in  the  di- 
vine right  and  supremacy  of  kings  was  prevalent,  and 
even  but  feebly  resisted  where  it  was  not  recognised. 
In  short,  the  progress  of  civilization,  of  letters,  of  the 
arts  of  peace  and  internal  prosperity,  embellished  this 
triumph  of  pure  monarchy,  inspired  princes  with  pre- 
sumptuous confidence,  and  the  people  with  contentment 
mixed  with  admiration."* 

The  moment  in  which  Louis  XIV.  took  the  reins  of 
government  in  his  own  hands,  was  the  signal  of  this  new 
era  in  the  history  of  Europe. 

Mazarin,  like  Richelieu,  though  he  achieved  great 
things,  left  the  finances  in  a  deplorable  condition.  No 
sooner,  however,  had  Louis  XIV.  attained  his  majority, 
than  he  applied  himself  with  all  the  vigor  of  his  noble 
but  ambitious  character,  to  the  laying  the  surest  founda- 
tions for  the  glory  of  his  name.  The  finances  were 
improved,  commerce  and  manufactures  encouraged,  and 
the  country  rendered  strong  and  respected  without,  and 
prosperous  within.  But  even  here  the  germ  of  evil  was 
laid  beside  the  germ  of  good,  for  Colbert  forgot,  in  his 
zeal  to  place  France  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  first 
manufacturing  countries  of  the  world,  that  one  class  of 
a  nation  cannot  with  impunity  be  benefited  at  the  ex- 
pense of  another,  and  the  restrictions  placed  upon  the 
trade  in  corn,  as  well  as  other  protective  measures, 
through  which  an  undue  interference  of  government  was 
exercised,  did  not  fail  to  produce  a  future  harvest  of 
evil. 

Louis  XIV.  commenced  with  an  ardent  desire  for  the 
happiness  of  his  people,  and  he  was  indefatigable  in  at- 
tending to  the  affairs  of  the  nation  ;  but  he  wished  to 
grasp  all  power,  and  was  unwilling  to  delegate  it  to  oth- 

*  Guizot's  Histoire  de  la  Revolution  (TAngieterre,  vol  i.,  p.  <J. 


LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH.  21 

ers.     His  ideas  upon  the  rights  and  duties  of  kings  were 
absolute  in  the  extreme. 

All  historians  from  whom  we  obtain  records  of  his 
reign,  agree  in  representing  Louis  in  this  light ;  the  fol- 
lowing are  said  to  be  his  ideas  of  the  kingly  character. 
"  The  interests  of  the  state  should  be  his  first  considera- 
tion. To  command  others  he  must  raise  himself  above 
them,  and  neither  execute,  nor  order  any  tiling  which 
may  be  unworthy  of  himself,  of  the  position  which  he 
fills,  nor  of  the  dignity  of  the  state.  He  who  works  for 
the  state,  works  for  himself;  the  welfare  of  the  one,  con- 
stitutes the  glory  of  the  other.  When  the  first  is  ele- 
vated, happy,  and  powerful,  he  who  is  the  cause  of  its 
prosperity,  will  be  glorious."* 

"  The  king  represents  the  whole  nation,  all  power  re- 
sides in  his  hands,  and  there  can  be  no  other  in  the  king- 
lom  than  that  which  he  establishes.  The  nation  has  no 
yital  power  ;  in  France  it  resides  entirely  in  the  person 
of  the  king."t 

"  Kings  are  absolute  lords,  and  have  consequently  the 
full  and  entire  disposal  of  the  property  of  the  clergy  as 
well  as  the  laity. "J 

"  He  who  has  given  kings  to  the  world  has  willed  that 
they  should  be  respected  as  His  lieutenants,  reserving 
to  himself  the  sole  right  of  examining  their  conduct.  It 
is  His  will  that  whoever  is  born  a  subject  should  obey 
blindly."^ 

"  A  king  ought  to  decide  for  himself,  because  decision 
has  need  of  a  master  spirit,  and  in  cases  where  reason 


*  SUde  de  Louis  XIV.,  cli.  28. 

t  Manuscrit  (tun  Cmtr  de  Droit,  composed  for  the  instruction  of  the  Duke 
de  Bourgogne,  quoted  by  Lemontky,  in  his  Essai  sur  la  Monarchic  d« 
lAmis  XJV.,  p.  15. 

J  Mcmoirr  de  iMuis  XIV.,  vx)l.  ii.,  p.  121. 

S  Idem,  p.  £i&. 


22  LOUIS  THE  FOURTEENTH. 

does  not  prompt  him,  he  must  yield  to  tlie  instinct  which 
God  has  put  in  all  men,  especially  in  kings."* 

Louis  XIV.  did  not  long  remain  content  with  the  glory 
of  rendering  his  people  happy.  The  mania  of  foreign 
conquest  seized  him,  and  a  succession  of  glorious  victo- 
ries, followed  by  as  great  disasters,  together  with  an  in- 
ordinate love  of  pomp  and  magnificence,  to  which  indeed 
France  is  indebted  for  some  of  its  finest  monuments, 
soon  again  reduced  the  people  to  a  state  of  suffering  ; 
and  though  this  reign  is  considered  the  most  glorious 
period  of  French  history,  it  was  under  cover  of  its  bril- 
liancy that  the  first  seeds  of  the  future  Revolution  were 
sown. 

Towards  the  close  of  this  reign  the  whole  aspect  ot 
France  was  changed.  The  lands  were  lying  waste,  the 
provinces  depopulated ;  the  nation  unquiet  and  discour- 
aged ;  the  government  hated  and  despised.  The  finan- 
ces were  in  a  deplorable  state,  and  no  other  resource 
left  to  restore  them  but  a  bankruptcy. 

Further  loans  were  out  of  the  question.  In  order  to 
raise  eight  millions  (320,000/.)  of  ready  money,  the  gov- 
ernment signed  bills  for  thirty-two  millions,  (1,280,000/.) 
The  whole  debt  now  amounted  to  two  thousand  tliree 
hundred  millions,  (92,000,000/.)  The  expenditure  of 
1715  was  estimated  at  two  hundred  and  five  millions, 
(8,200,000/.,)  while  the  revenue  to  meet  it  was  only  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  millions,  (7,000,000/.)  Dark 
clouds  hung  over  the  destinies  of  France,  and  Louis, 
alone  in  his  gorgeous  palace,  with  his  successor  a  child 
of  five  years  old,  pursued  by  dark  and  melancholy 
thoughts,  gave  himself  up  to  Madame  de  Maintenon,  and 
buried  himself  in  religious  devotions,  which  took  a  fanatic 
character  from  the  influence  of  his  confessor,  Father  Le- 

*  Mcmoire  de  Louis  XIV.,  vol  i. 


DEVELOPMENT    OF    PUBLIC*  OPINION.  23 

tellier,  an  austere  and  hard-hearted  Jesuit,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded the  excellent  Father  Lachaise,  and  who  dishon- 
ored the  end  of  this  reign  by  contemptible  persecutions. 

Louis  XIV.,  like  all  despotic  monarchs,  detested  all 
prominent  individualities  in  the  state,  and  the  nobility, 
whose  power  and  importance  had  been  already  so  con- 
siderably diminished,  dwindled  under  this  reign  into  mere 
minions  of  the  court,  and  though  they  continued  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  privileges,  they  no  longer  formed  a 
body  in  the  state.  On  the  other  side,  the  middle  class- 
es {bourgeoisie)  renewed  their  alliance  with  the  crown  ; 
enriched  by  their  industry  and  distinguished  by  their  in- 
telligence, they  soon  took  possession  of  all  those  places 
which  were  formerly  reserved  for  the  nobility  alone,  and 
among  them  was  gradually  developed  that  new  power, 
public  opinion,*  which,  ever  varying  and  ever  led,  though 
ever  with  a  false  semblance  of  independence,  became  a 
mighty  rival  of  the  monarchs  of  Europe. 

But  of  all  the  germs  of  a  future  Revolution,  none  were 
so  big  with  disastrous  consequences  as  the  dissensions 
between  the  Jansenistsf  and  the  Jesuits,  which,  though 
originally  a  purely  theological  question,  was  soon  em- 
braced by  the  whole  public,  and  Jesuit  and  Jansenist  be- 
came the  noms  de  guerre  of  the  two  factions  that  divided 
the  state. 

The  cause  of  the  Jesuits  and  that  of  the  absolute 

*  It  may  be  objected  that  public  opinion  must  always  have  existed,  but 
I  use  the  word  deliberately,  as  implying  those  vague  theoretical  and  un- 
healthy speculations,  on  states  and  government,  which  have  since  then 
gone  on  augmenting  to  such  a  degree,  in  contradistinction  to  that  judgment 
upon  affairs,  that  watchfulness  as  to  the  acts  of  governments,  which  must 
always  be  salutary. 

fThe  peculiar  feature  of  Jansenism,  and  the  one  that  has  made  it  be 
looked  upon  as  more  dangerous  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  than  any  of 
the  schismatic  churches,  is,  that  though  differing  from  the  Church  in  cer- 
tain doctrines,  and  though  condemned  and  even  anathematized  by  the 
Church  for  this  difference,  they  nevertheless  persisted  in  forcing  themselves 
(inon  the  Church,  and  considering  themselves  as  inseparable  from  it. 


24  THE    JANSENISTS    AND    THE    JESUITS. 

power  of  the  king,  seemed  in  all  minds  to  be  intimately 
connected  ;  whoever  therefore  hated  the  government  ha- 
ted the  Jesuits,  and  took  part  with  the  Jansenists,  who 
were  thus  made  to  represent  the  party  of  the  opposition. 
It  was  not,  however,  that  all  those  who  embraced  Mo- 
linism,  or  Jansenism,  were  at  all  anxious  about  grace  or 
free  will,  (the  points  in  dispute  between  the  two  reli- 
gious parties,)  but  during  those  times  when  society  was 
still  earnestly  religious,  struggles  for  political  interests 
wore  the  guise  of  theological  discussions  ;  and  Louis 
XIV.,  who  was  profoundly  ignorant  in  these  matters, 
nevertheless  detested,  with  royal  instinct,  all  that  be- 
longed to  the  Jansenists,  because  he  found  ranged  under 
their  banner  all  he  had  ever  struggled  against :  the  no- 
bles, the  magistracy,  the  liberties  of  the  provinces,  the 
remnants  of  the  Fronde,  and  behind  all  these,  the  re- 
formers. This  party  had  grown  with  the  faults  and  mis- 
fortunes of  Louis  XIV.  ;  it  had  blamed  the  war  of  suc- 
cession, it  had  blamed  the  peace  of  Utrecht ;  it  censured 
all  the  acts  of  the  government,  it  exaggerated  the  misery 
of  the  people ;  it  accused  the  king  of  inertness,  of  cru- 
elty, of  cowardice  ;  it  said  that  he  had  entered  into  the 
order  of  the  Jesuits,  and  that  his  confessor  had  made 
him  take  the  oath  of  obedience. 

It  was  a  base  opposition,  working  covertly,  but  it  was 
the  more  alarming  from  its  vagueness  and  mysterious- 
ness  ;  its  presence  being  felt  everywhere,  even  among 
the  ministers,  the  court,  and  the  clergy,  it  having  been 
joined  by  a  great  party  of  the  latter,  the  Benedictines, 
the  Oratorians,  and  other  learned  rehgious  bodies. 

Its  fall  was  determined  at  court,  but  no  one  at  that 
time  suspected  that  the  struggle  thus  commenced  was 
to  last  fifty  years,  and  was  to  be  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  ruin  of  the  monarchy  and  of  religion. 


DEATH    OF    LOUIS    XIT.  25 

The  growing  strength  of  the  Jansenists  may,  perhaps, 
have  been  greatly  owing  to  the  ennui  which  the  court 
inspired,  for  the  tastes  of  Ihe  courtiers  had  by  no  means 
changed  with  the  tastes  of  the  king.  The  semblance  of 
austere  manners  and  great  devotion  was  put  on  to  please 
a  king,  who,  fallen  as  he  was  in  their  eyes,  was  still  the 
dispenser  of  favors,  but  the  love  of  pleasure  and  frivolity 
was  at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  ;  and  court  and  people 
awaited  with  equal  impatience  the  death  of  their  form- 
erly idolized  monarch. 

No  sooner  had  this  event  taken  place  than  the  con- 
tempt in  which  he  was  held  was  manifested  by  the  set- 
ting aside  of  his  will,  in  which  he  had  determined  that 
during  the  minority  of  his  successor,  the  kingdom  should 
be  governed  by  a  council  of  regency,  headed  by  his  le- 
gitimatized son,  the  Duke  of  Maine.  The  Duke  of  Or- 
leans, supported  by  the  parliament,*  (gained  over  by  the 
prospects  of  greater  power  held  out  to  it  by  the  Duke,) 
protested  against  this  arrangement,  as  a  violation  of  the 
constitution  of  the  state,  which  enacted  that  supreme 
power  should  be  vested  in  one  alone,  and  as  first  prince 
of  the  blood  he  was  named  sole  regent,  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  the  Duke  of  Maine  and  his  party. 

*  The  character  of  the  magistrates  of  that  day  has  been  eloquently  de- 
scribed by  a  contemporary  writer,  renowned  for  his  strict  impartiality : 
*'  What  magistrate  of  our  day  would  interrupt  his  amusements,  because,  I 
will  not  say  the  peace  of  mind,  but  because  the  honor,  or  even  the  hfe  of 
an  unfortunate  being  was  at  stalie  ?  Tlie  title  of  magistrate  is  but  too 
often  a  charter  of  idleness,  bought  on  account  of  the  honor  it  confers, 
and  the  functions  exercised  merely  from  bienseance.  To  ask  a  magistrate 
for  justice,  when  he  is  intent  upon  amusing  himself  is  considered  an  insult 
ind  a  proof  of  bad  manners.  Their  amusements  are  the  sacred  j art  of, 
Jieir  lives,  which  no  one  dares  intrude  upon;  and  they  prefer  to  wear  out 
•he  patience  of  an  unfortunate  client,  and  risk  losing  a  good  cause,  to  cur- 
tailing a  few  moments  from  their  sleep,  or  breaking  off  a  game  of  cards  or  a 
avelegs  conversation."— Flechier,  Panegyrique  de  St.  Louii. 
VOL.  I.  3 


CORRUPTION    OF   MORALS. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Regency — General  depravity  of  the  Court — State  of  the  Finances — Fraudu- 
lent transactions — Infamous  measures — System  of  Law — Brilliant  pros- 
pects— Reverse  o^the  picture — Duboi^— Death  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans — 
His  rule  a  disastrous  period  for  France — French  Literature — Voltaire — 
Duke  de  Bourbon — Fleury — Bull  Unigenitus — Parliament  exiled — Stan- 
islas— Treaty  of  Vienna. 

Immediately  on  the  Duke  of  Orleans  being  named 
regent,  a  violent  reaction  took  place.  The  parliament 
having  been  called  in  to  pronounce  upon  the  last  w^ill  of 
the  monarch  who  had  so  long  held  it  in  subjection,  hoped 
to  regain  some  power  ;  and  the  nobles  hastened  again  to 
take  the  precedency  of  that  class,  which  the  protection 
of  Louis  XIV.  had  alone  enabled  to  maintain  its  position. 
The  mask  of  hypocrisy  was  thrown  aside,  and  the  cour- 
tiers vied  with  one  another  in  surpassing  their  master 
in  every  species  of  vice.  The  corruption  of  morals 
which  had  hitherto  been  the  infamous  distinction  of  the 
court,  was  now  spread  through  all  classes,  for  the  jovial 
ease  and  familiarity  of  the  regent  were  imitated  by  his 
worthy  disciples,  and  no  roof  was  too  humble,  no  home 
too  sacred,  no  den  of  vice  too  low  for  them  to  make  it 
the  scene  of  their  debauchery. 

The  external  policy  of  France  during  the  regency, 
•directed  by  the  execrable  Dubois,  who  found  it  more  ad- 
vantageous to  serve  the  enemies  of  his  country  than  to 
attend  to  its  interests,  was  of  a  nature  still  further  to  add 
to  the  national  degradation,  and,  as  if  no  species  of  de- 
moralization should  be  left  untried  during  this  disgrace- 
ful period  of  French  history,  the  financial  measures 
which  were  resorted  to  were  of  the  most  iniquitous  cha- 
racter. 

The  greatest  difficulties  which  Louis  XIV.  had  be- 
queathed to  his  successor  resided  in  the  state  of  the 


MEASURES    OF    THE    REGENT.  27 

.finances.  The  expenditure  was  rated  at  two  hundred 
and  forty-three  millions  of  francs,  (9,720,000/.,^  the 
revenue  did  not  exceed  a  hundred  and  eighty-six  mil- 
lions, (7,440,000/.,)  two  years  of  which  had  been  ex- 
pended in  advance,  and  bills  amounting  tQ  seven  hundred 
and  forty-three  millions  (29,720,000/.)  were  due,  be- 
sides eighty-six  millions  (3,440,000/.)  of  the  rents  de 
I'Hotel  de  Ville.  The  poverty  of  the  people  was  equal 
to  the  poverty  of  the  royal  treasury,  and  the  only  new 
taxes  which  could  possibly  be  levied  must  therefore  of 
necessity  have  been  imposed  upon  the  property  of  the 
nobles  and  the  clergy.  But  the  regent  dared  not  brave 
the  resistance  he  was  sure  to  meet  with  in  this  quarter, 
and  several  palliatives  were  therefore  suggested. 

Instigated  by  his  hatred  of  the  financiers,  the  austere 
St.  Simon  proposed  to  convoke  the  States-General  and 
to  declare  a  national  bankruptcy,  but  this  plan  was  re- 
sisted by  the  Duke  de  Noailles,  and  rejected  by  the  re- 
gent from  fear  of  the  States-General,  not  from  any  feel- 
ing of  honor,  for  he  did  not  shrink  from  adopting,  in  the 
midst  of  peace,  the  fraudulent  measures  to  which  Louis 
XIV.  had  had  recourse,  to  save  France  from  dismem- 
berment. He  suppressed  a  great  number  of  offices  which 
had  been  previously  created,  without  reimbursing  the 
sums  for  which  they  had  been  bought.  He  remelted  and 
debased  the  coin  of  the  realm,  but  did  not  gain  by  this  op- 
eration more  than  seventy  millions,  (2,800,000/.,)  because 
the  re-coinage  was  partly  performed  out  of  the  country  ; 
he  revised  the  whole  of  the  standing  debt,  and  reduced 
it  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions,  (10,000,000/.,)  which 
he  liquidated  by  an  issue  of  government  bonds,  (billets 
dfetat,)  bearing  interest  of  four  per  cent. ;  he  diminished 
the  interest  on  a  part  of  the  rentes  of  the  H6tel  de  Ville  ; 
and  lastly,  he  created  tribunals,  called  chambres  ardentes, 


28  NATIONAL    DEPRAVITY. 

to  examine  into  the  frauds  and  illicit  gains  of  the  farm- 
ers-general. These  tribunals  were  surrounded  by  cir- 
cumstances of  terror  and  tyranny,  which  contrasted 
strangely  with  the  usual  good-natured  weakness  of  the 
regent's  character.  The  names  of  four  hundred  and 
sixty  fathers  of  families  were  placed  on  the  lists  for  pro- 
scription, and  the  most  abominable  means  were  resorted 
to  in  order  to  swell  their  number.  Informers  received 
rich  rewards  ;  servants  were  encouraged  to  denounce 
their  masters  under  borrowed  names  ;  those  who  at- 
tempted to  censure  the  denouncers  were  punished  with 
death ;  spies  were  placed  upon  the  financiers  in  their 
own  houses,  and  the  inquiries  instituted  went  as  far 
back  as  1688.  The  greatest  consternation  reigned 
among  the  financiers;  many  of  them  committed  sui- 
cide, others  fled  from  the  country  ;  the  prisons  were 
filled  ;  luxury  began  to  disappear  ;  capital  lay  dormant ; 
and  industry  and  commerce  ceased.  The  people,  who 
at  first  applauded  the  persecutions  directed  against  those 
whom  they  with  true  instinct  looked  upon  as  enemies, 
began  to  murmur  when  several  financiers  were  sent  to 
the  galleys,  and  one  condemned  "to  death.  At  length 
the  persecuted  in  their  despair  had  recourse  to  the  cour- 
tiers, buying  their  intercession  and  interest  in  obtaining 
a  diminution  of  the  burdens  laid  upon  them.  The  no- 
blesse, for  the  sake  of  gain,  willingly  lent  themselves  to 
this  baseness.  The  ladies  of  the  court  made  a  traffic  of 
their  influence.  The  members  of  the  chambre  ardente 
dishonored  themselves  by  their  venality.  The  public 
exulted  at  the  ability  shown  by  the  farmers-general  in 
parrying  the  attacks  directed  against  them,  and  punished 
with  songs  and  bon-mots  the  baseness  and  the  cupidity  of 
their  protectors. 

Thus  was  the  government  again  defrauded  of  treasure 


JOHN    LAW.  29 

by  means  of  the  immorality  it  had  itself  contributed  to 
disseminate.  Out  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  millions, 
(8,800,000/.,)  which  it  was  calculated  would  be  raised 
by  these  arbitrary  taxes,  only  fifteen  millions  (600,000/.) 
found  their  way  into  the  treasury  ;  government  bonds 
{billets  (Tetat)  fell  eighty  per  cent,  in  value,  and  the 
public  credit  was  entirely  destroyed. 

These  measures  were  followed  by  that  unequalled  sys- 
tem of  fraud,  known  by  the  name  of  its  inventor,  Law.* 

*  John  Law,  born  about  1681,  was  a  native  of  Edinburgh  ;  in  early  life 
he  showed  great  talents,  and  was  in  consequence  eniployoil  to  arrange  the 
revenue  and  accounts  of  Scotland,  which  occupation,  no  doubt,  gave  a  bias 
to  his  mind  in  favor  of  financial  schemes.  Through  his  persuasion  the  first 
public  bank  of  circulation  in  Paris  was  established  by  the  regent  in  1716, 
and  its  management  was  intrusted  to  the  projector.  This  bank  obtained  the 
privilege  for  twenty  years  for  issuing  notes,  w  hich,  however,  were  exchange- 
able on  demand  for  coil-  of  the  realm. 

The  public  debt  at  thii  time  amounted  to  one  thousand  five  hundred  mil- 
lions, (60,000,000^.,)  an  I  was  at  from  sixty  to  seventy  per  cent,  discount. 
Law's  bank  was  formec  with  the  view  of  paying  off  this  debt,  by  giving  the 
public  creditor  the  opti  >n  of  subscribing  for  bank  shares  and  paying  for  the 
same  in  the  public  stock  at  par.  As  an  inducement  for  purchasing  these 
bank  shares,  the  Miseit-bippi  Company  was  Ibrnied  with  a  capital  of  one 
hundred  millions  (4,000,000/.)  and  joined  to  the  bank.  This  company  pur- 
chased the  patent  which  had  been  granted  to  the  Sieur  Crozat  in  1712,  giv- 
ing possession  of  t'.ic  country  of  the  Mississippi  under  the  nnnie  of  Louisi- 
ana. The  sole  ri^l.t  of  trading  to  that  quarter  for  twenty-five  years  was 
vested  in  the  comi,a(iy.  Many  other  advantages  were  given  to  the  bank  and 
the  company  in  tn*  form  of  privileges  and  monopolies ;  still  it  was  a  long 
time  before  all  thw  number  of  shares  were  subscribed  for.  In  1719.  the 
French  East  in'Sia  Company  and  the  Senegal  Company  were  both  incorpo- 
rated with  the  Mississippi  Company,  which  in  consequence  then  enjoyed  the 
monopoly  ot  the  trade  of  France.  Such  advantages  soon  began  to  operate 
upon  public  (^pinion,  and  crowds  rushed  forward  to  make  investments  in  the 
stock  of  me  company,  so  that  in  August  of  1719,  its  price  was  driven  up  to 
five  hundred  per  cent.  In  this  month  the  general  farm  of  all  the  public 
revenues  of  the  country  was  granted  to  the  company,  allof  whose  privileges 
were  by  the  same  arret  prolonged  to  the  year  1770.  In  consideration  of 
tliese  concessions,  the  company  agreed  to  advance  to  the  government,  for 
paying  off  the  public  debt,  one  thousand  two  hundred  millions  (48,000,000/.) 
at  three  per  cent.  A  further  sum  of  fifty  millions  ('2,000,000/.)  was  paid  by, 
the  company  for  the  exclusive  privilege  of  coining  during  nine  years.  In  a. 
few  weeks  the  atcc':  rote  in  price  to  one  thousand  two  hundred  per  cent., 
when  one  hundroc'  ar A  fifty  millions  (0,000,000/.)  were  adde<l  to  the  capital 
by  fresh  Bdl:<fiiy'.'7*  at  one  thousand  per  cent.,  and  this  new  capital 
wasdiWdid  iatj  \i  f  small  shares,  so  that  its  purchase  might  be  within 

3* 


30  law's  bank. 

There  are  moments  of  madness  among  nations,  and 
no  people  have  experienced  this  oftener  than  the  French, 
who  are  fickle,  sanguine,  and  full  of  ardor  for  every  thing 
new.  One  of  these  dangerous  periods  had  now  arrived. 
It  was  long  since  glory  had  been  the  passion  of  the  na- 
tion. Upon  matters  of  religion,  calmness  even  to  indif- 
ference prevailed.  Since  the  time  of  the  Fronde,  nonfe 
sighed  any  longer  for  libert)'.  The  last  traces  of  the 
spirit  of  chivalry  were  effaced  ;  nothing  but  pleasure 
was  now  desired,  and  the  unbridled  love  of  pleasure 
awakened  cupidity.  All  schemes  for  the  gratification 
of  this  passion,  which  was  now  become  an  epidemic,  were 
readily  embraced  ;  and  Law's  system  was  well  calcula- 
ted to  lay  hold  of  the  imagination  of  those  who  understood 
nothing  of  it,  but  that  it  promised  immense  profits.  Ig- 
norance in  matters  of  finance  was  very  great  in  France; 
all  the  science  of  the  capitalists  consisted  in  lending  out 
their  money  at  usurious  interest. 

The  projects  of  this  man  were  dazzling  and  imposing 
to  those  who  could  not  investigate  them  and  discover  the 
unsoundness  of  their  foundation.  All  rushed  forward  to 
reap  the  golden  harvest.  The  shares  in  his  bank,  and 
other  companies  which  he  formed,  rose  to  an  enormous 
price.     Those  whom  Law  had   at  first  allured  by  his 

the  reach  of  a  still  larger  class.  By  this  means  tlie  company  was  enabled 
tf>  lend  to  the  government  an  additional  sum  of  three  hundred  millions 
(10,000,OOOZ.)  at  three  percent.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  speculation,  the 
bank  had  issued  notes  to  the  amount  of  one  thousand  millions  (40,000,000/.,) 
and  the  abundance  of  money  began  to  work  very  injurious  effects.  From 
November,  1719,  to  the  following  April,  the  price  of  Mississippi  stock 
continued  to  rise  until  it  reached  to  two  thousand  and  fifty  per  cent. 
The  immense  circulation  of  money,  however,  produced  a  reaction,  Uie 
stock  fell,  and  bank  notes  became  depreciated  in  value.  Many  expe- 
dients were  practised  by  Law  to  prevAit  this  downward  movement. 
A  forced  and  fictitious  value  was  given  to  the  paper  money,  and  much  in- 
justice and  tyranny  was  practised.  To  put  a  stop  to  these  evils,  the  regent 
had  recoui  'e  to  a  measure  still  more  pernicious  and  iniquitous  ;  he  issued  an 
.arret  reducnig  the  stock  and  the  bank  jioles  to  half  of  their  nominal  value. 
The  ruin  of  the  whole  was  soou  accomplished  after  this  step. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  PUBLIC  CREDIT.  31 

brilliant  promises,  employed  the  activity  of  their  minds 
in  enticing  others.  The  story  of  these  plausible  schemes 
flew  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  he  who  showed  himself 
incredulous  must  have  been  gifted  with  no  common 
courage.  The  fabrication  of  paper  required  for  issue 
would  have  been  found  too  slow,  though  the  number  of 
workmen  and  clerks  engaged  in  preparing  it,  had  been 
doubled  and  quadrupled.  The  inhabitants  of  the  provin- 
ces looked  with  an  envious  eye  upon  the  good  fortune 
which  seemed  to  smile  upon  the  Parisians.  They  flocked 
to  the  capital ;  never  before  was  there  so  great  a  con- 
course in  Paris,  excitement  so  general,  luxury  so  ex- 
travagant. This  ferment  continued  to  increase  from 
1716  to  17'20,  till  at  length  the  issue  of  paper  money,  or 
bills  circulated  as  money,  became  so  enormous  that  the 
prices  of  all  commodities  rose  exorbitantly,  and  land  was 
sold  at  fifty  years'  purchase.  Tliose  capitalists  who 
were  large  holders  of  notes  realized  their  fortunes  by  the 
purchase  of  land,  and  thus  so  large  a  quantity  of  notes 
were  thrown  into  the  market  tbat  they  began  to  fall  in 
value.  An  arret  appeared  reducing  tlie  nominal  value 
of  the  notes  to  one  half,  but  they  could  now  no  longer  be 
circulated  at  more  than  a  tenth  of  their  value.  Then 
another  arret  was  sent  forth  revoking  the  first.  Many 
other  arbitrary  edicts  were  issued  in  the  course  of  a 
month,  but  confidence  could  not  be  restored,  and  the 
bubble  burst.  This  great  financial  houleversement  aug- 
mented the  distress  of  the  treasury,  and  destroyed  public 
credit,  depraved  the  higher  classes  still  more,  and  ex- 
cited many  bad  passions ;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  gave 
an  impulse  to  commerce,  and  did  not,  in  fact,  impover- 
ish France  as  a  country.  The  capital  remained,  though 
distress  was  brought  to  individuals  by  change  of  property. 
"  History,"  says  Lemontey,  "ought  to  signalize  this  epoch 


32  THE    BULL    UNIGENITUS. 

as  a  most  remarkable  point  of  difference  in  the  progress 
of  the  rulers  and  the  ruled  ;  a  point,  whence  the  people  al- 
ways advancing  in  intelligence  and  wealth,  and  their  chiefs 
constantly  retrograding  with  their  prejudices  and  their 
timidity,  prepared  frightful  convulsions  for  both  parties." 
As  if  nothing  sacred  should  be  left  unprofaned  during 
this  reign,  Dubois,  the  master  of  Philip  of  Orleans  in  all 
those  infamous  vices  in  which  he  proved  himself  so  great 
a  proficient,  was  decorated  with  the  purple  of  the  church. 
He  was  first  appointed  Archbishop  of  Cambrai,  and  no 
murmurs  of  discontent  were  heard,  when  the  See  which 
the  reverend  Fenelon  had  occupied  was  desecrated  by 
this  monster.  No  means  were  then  spared  to  obtain  for 
him  the  cardinal's  hat.  The  two  rivals,  George  I.  and 
James  Stuart,  were  interested  in  his  favor,  and  we  need 
not  add  that  this  could  not  have  been  by  fair  means.  The 
consent  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  King  of 
Spain  was  gained,  eight  millions  of  francs  were  expended 
at  Rome,  and  Dubois  at  length  gave  himself  up  entirely 
to  the  Jesuits.  The  dissensions  about  the  bull  Uniseni- 
ius*  continued.     Several  bishops,  as  well  as  the  uni- 

*  So  called  from  its  opening  words,  "  Unigcnitus  Dei  Filivs."  It  was 
issued  by  Clement  XI.  in  1713,  condemning  a  hundred  and  one  propositions 
in  a  devotional  work,  written  by  Pere  Giuesnel.  This  book  had  been  uni- 
versally read  during  a  period  of  forty  years,  and  great  aslcnishment  was  ex- 
cited in  the  Christian  world  by  this  bull  of  condemnation,  since  the  greater 
part  of  the  propivsitions  which  were  thus  condemned  seemed  to  be  orlhodox. 
But  (iuesnel  was  a  Jansenist,  and  the  previous  note  upon  this  sect  wi/1 
throw  some  light  upon  the  matter.  A  great  clamor  was  raised  against  the 
bull  in  France  ;  the  parliament  would  for  a  length  of  time  not  enregister  it 
except  with  modifications.  Louis  XIV.,  under  the  influence  of  the  .lesuits, 
considered  this  opposition  as  a  revolt,  and  it  is  asserted  that  no  less  than 
30,000  lettres  de  cachet  were  issued  in  consequence  of  it.  Bui  the  persecu- 
ted Jansenists  on  their  side  did  not  spare  their  enemies,  and  among  other 
weapons  used  ridicule;  as  a  proof  of  Louis  XIV. 's  hatred  of  Jansenism,  it 
was  said  that  a  courtier  having  asked  a  favor  for  his  brother,  the  king  re- 
plied that  thsfi  brother  was  suspected  of  being  a  Jansenist,  to  which  the 
courtier  gave  in  answer,  "  Sire,  what  calumny  !  I  can  assure  your  Majesty 
that  my  brother  is  an  atheist."  The  king  replied  in  a  reassured  tone,  "  Ah, 
that  is  a  different  thing !" 


DEATH  OF  THE  DUKE  OP  ORLEANS.         33 

versity,  had  appealed  to  a  future  council  of  the  church 
against  this  bull,  and  the  regent  was  therefore  much  em- 
barrassed, when  Dubois,  whose  power  over  him  was  un- 
limited, urged  him  to  abandon  the  Jansenists.  By  dint 
of  intimidation  the  parliament  was  made  to  record  the 
bull  without  any  modifications,  and  it  thus  became  the 
law  of  the  stare  and  of  the  church,  (1720.) 

Notwithstanding,  however,  this  great  service  rendered 
to  the  papal  see,  Clement  XL  refused  to  name  Dubois 
cardinal,  but  at  his  death,  which  ensued  shortly  after,  the 
French  faction  in  the  conclave  promised  its  support  to 
Cardinal  Conti,  upon  condition  of  his  fulfilling  the  wishes 
of  the  ambitious  upstart,  Conti  was  weak  enough  to 
yield,  but  very  soon  after  died,  it  is  said,  in  consequence 
of  the  remorse  he  felt  at  having  profaned  the  sanctity  of 
religion,  by  thus  throwing  its  mantle  over  every  thing 
that  was  hideous  in  vice. 

Soon  after  the  king's  attaining  his  majority,  the  Duke 
of  Orleans,  who  dared  not  immediately  exchange  his  ti- 
tle of  regent  for  that  of  minister,  had  his  favorite  nomi- 
nated to  this  post,  but  death  soon  put  a  stop  to  his  ad- 
ministration, which  was  not  wanting  in  vigor  and  activ 
ity.  He  was  succeeded  as  minister  by  the  Duke  of  Or- 
leans, who,  however,  survived  him  only  a  few  months. 
The  lampoon  placed  on  the  tomb  of  the  indolent  mother 
of  this  prince,  is  one  among  the  many  instances  of  the 
contempt  in  which  his  memory  was  held.  "  Here  lies 
Idleness — the  mother  of  all  the  vices." 

The  eight  years  of  the  government  of  the  regent  had 
a  fatal  influence  on  the  future  destinies  of  France.  He 
corrupted  the  morals  of  the  nation  by  his  example,  de- 
stroyed the  finances  of  the  state  by  disastrous  experi- 
ments, betrayed  the  interests  of  France  to  England,  and 
brought  the  church  into  disrepute  by  placing  a  monstei 


34  THE    NEW  PHILOSOPHY. 

of  vice  on  the  steps  of  the  altar.  Only  one  part  of  his 
conduct  can  be  passed  without  censure  ;  he  treated  the 
young  king  with  invariable  tenderness  and  respect,  and 
exerted  himself  to  instil  into  his  mind  sound  political 
views,  and  even  instructed  him  himself  in  several  branches 
of  the  science  of  government,  which,  from  culpable  neg- 
ligence, not  from  incapacity,  he  had  failed  to  practise 
during  his  own  regency. 

The  amends  he  might  thus  have  made  to  France  for 
the  disasters  he  had  brought  upon  the  country,  were 
counteracted  by  the  king's  preceptor,  Villeroi,  who  was 
in  the  habit  of  taking  his  royal  pupil  to  the  window,  and 
pointing  out  to  him  the  crowd  assembled  below,  told  him 
that  the  thousands  that  he  saw  there  were  his  property 
to  do  with  as  he  liked  ;  a  lesson  which  was  better  suited 
to  the  degenerate  mind  of  Louis  XV.,  who,  totally  in- 
different to  the  welfare  of  the  millions  over  whom  he  was 
appointed  to  watch,  spent  their  substance  on  his  own  vile 
pleasures,  while  he  led  the  monarchy  on  to  its  ruin. 

The  social  state  of  the  eighteenth  century  arising  out 
of  feudal  manners,  and  having  nothing  in  it  which  was 
feudal,  except  recollections,  forms,  and  broken  frag- 
ments, was  a  state  of  society  the  foundations  of  which 
existed  no  longer  ;  it  was  in  discord  with  ideas,  and  was 
governed  less  by  institutions  than  by  customs.  The 
death-blow  having  been  given  to  the  feudal  system,  the 
next  task  was  to  clear  away  the  rubbish  which  impeded 
the  march  of  intellect,  to  annihilate  the  world  of  the  mid- 
dle ages,  and  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  new  world. 
Society  in  the  middle  ages  being  the  work  entirely  of 
Christianity,  and  that  having  been  the  principal  instru- 
ment which  demolished  the  ancient  world,  Christianity 
was  considered  by  the  new  philosophy  as  the  symbol  and 
the  cause  of  barbarism ;  as  the  enemy,  the  defeat  of 


THE    NEW    PHILOSOPHY.  35 

which  was  to  draw  with  it  all  remains  of  the  feudal  sys- 
tem, and  begin  the  era  of  modern  civilization. 

The  ruin  of  Christianity  was  then  the  end  of  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  eighteenth  century  ;  but  this  work  of  at- 
tempted destruction  presents  three  distinct  periods  :  that 
of  Epicurean  deism,  and  of  scientific  reform,  preached  by 
Voltaire  ;  that  of  the  atheism  of  Diderot,  and  of  the  po- 
litical reform  of  Montesquieu;  and  that  of  the  reaction 
of  ideality,  and  of  the  democratic  efforts  of  Rousseau. 

Until  this  epoch  philosophical  literature  was  limited 
to  licentious  tales,  satirical  verses,  and  declamatory 
pamphlets.  The  esprits  forts  had  not  put  forward  their 
skepticism  except  in  Bayle's  IHctionary,  an  immense 
arsenal  of  erudition,  and  of  dialectics,  against  religion, 
the  scholiasts,  and  the  middle  ages.  The  spirit  of  in- 
vestigation now  became  active  in  analyzing,  experiment- 
ing on  and  dissolving  every  thing.  Philosophy,  licen- 
tious and  correctional.  Epicurean  and  philanthropical, 
issued  for  the  first  time  from  the  schools,  showed  itself 
abroad,  and  pretended  to  regenerate  mankind.  The 
taste  for  political  studies  spread.  Questions  relative  to 
the  social  state,  to  morals,  to  the  institutions  of  the  peo- 
ple, occupied  ill  thinking  minds.  Sciences  of  which 
even  the  names  did  not  exist  before,  political  economy, 
and  statistics,  now  arose.  Literature,  invaded  by  the 
exact  sciences  and  by  philosophy,  became  occupied 
more  with  ideas  than  with  words,  and  desired  before  all, 
to  instruct,  reform,  and  put  forth  doctrines.  France 
was  a  great  tribune  to  which  all  Europe  listened,  while 
discourses  were  held  on  man,  his  nature,  his  rights,  his 
interests  ;  and  whence  Voltaire,  become  the  representa- 
tive and  the  great  master  of  his  age,  propagated  his  ideas 
of  destruction,  with  a  satanic  energy,  by  his  sententious 
tragedies,  his  innumerable  letters,  his  satirical  pamph- 


36  THE   DURE    OF   BOURBON. 

lets,  and  above  all,  by  his  historical  works,  in  which  his 
profound  intelligence  of  the  past  is  continually  falsified 
by  his  hatred  against  the  middle  ages.* 

The  Duke  of  Orleans  was  succeeded  in  the  ministry 
by  the  Duke  of  Bourbon,  a  weak  and  profligate  fool,  who 
was  entirely  governed  by  his  wicked  mistress,  the  Mar- 
quise de  Prie.  His  administration  only  lasted  three 
years,  and  was  distinguished  by  no  other  event  than  the 
breaking  off  of  the  intended  marriage  between  the  king 
and  an  Infant  of  Spain,  in  consequence  of  an  intrigue  of 
Madame  de  Prie,  in  which,  says  Lacretelle,  "  all  the 
vices  conspired  in  favor  of  virtue,"  if  indeed  the  splendor 
of  the  crown  of  France  can  be  considered  a  compensation 
for  all  the  bitter  humiliations  which  were  the  lot  of  the 
virtuous  Maria  Leczinski,  as  the  wife  of  the  vulgar  de- 
bauchee with  whom  she  shared  this  splendor. 

The  power  which  the  Duke  of  Bourbon  and  his  mis- 
tress had  hoped  to  ensure  to  themselves  by  placing  a 
protegee  of  their  own  upon  the  throne,  was,  neverthe- 
less, soon  wrested  from  them,  in  consequence  of  a  very 
rigorous  edict  against  the  Protestants,  which  exaspera- 
ted the  so-called  philosophers  of  the  day  ;  while  a  tax  of 
one-fiftieth  imposed  upon  all  landed  property  of  the  no- 
bility and  clergy,  enlisted  the  privileged  classes  against 
them ;  and  a  scarcity  of  food,  in  which  it  was  thought 
they  speculated  for  their  own  gain,  made  the  populace 
rise,  and  occasioned  some  bloodshed. 

The  king's  preceptor,  Fleury,  though  of  a  very  ad- 
vanced age,  now  took  the  reins  of  government,  and  an 
administration  of  economy,  industry,  and  probity,  ensur- 
ed a  calm  of  some  duration,  in  which  the  country  began 
to  revive.  The  finances  were  no  longer  given  over  to 
courtiers  and  stock-brokers — the  variations  in  the  mone- 

*  Lavall6e. 


DISSENSIONS  REVIVED.  37 

tary  system  ceased  ;  the  tailles  were  diminished,  and  the 
tax  of  one-fiftieth  discontinued.  The  general  receipts 
amounted  to  a  hundred  and  forty  millions,  (5,600,000/.,) 
which  were  really  paid  into  the  treasury,  and  the  credit 
of  the  state  was  respected.  In  consequence  of  the  good 
faith  which  the  minister  showed  in  all  transactions,  he 
was  enabled  without  much  difficulty  to  raise  a  loan  of 
eighteen  millions,  (720,000/.) 

This  period  of  calm  v/as  again  disturbed  by  dissensions 
about  the  bull  Unigenitus,  which  though  seemingly  of 
little  importance  now,  at  that  period  contributed  greatly 
to  bring  the  government  into  discredit,  and  to  prepare 
the  field  for  incredulity.  Fleury,  who  was  an  adherent 
of  the  Jesuits,  allowed  no  persecutions  to  be  directed 
against  the  Jansenists,  several  magistrates  were  exiled, 
a  bishop  was  imprisoned,  and  several  doctors  excluded 
from  the  University  of  Paris.  The  king  held  a  bed  of 
justice,*  and  the  bull  was  again  enregistered  without 
modifications.  The  parliament  protested  in  an  arrets 
which  went  even  further  than  the  articles  of  1682.  The 
arret  was  annulled,  and  the  king  forbade  the  parliament 
to  deliberate  on  public  matters.  The  magistrates  pro- 
tested against  this  royal  prohibition  by  ceasing  to  exer- 
cise their  legal  functions,  and  to  administer  justice,  in 
consequence  of  whtch  they  were  exiled  but  again  recall- 
ed, when  they  assumed  a  semblance  of  submission,  and 
the  dissensions  recommenced,  without  leading  to  any 

*  Lit  de  Justice.  The  king  on  such  occasions  proceeded  to  parliaraen* 
with  greater  pomp  and  ceremonious  state  than  on  ordinary  royal  sittings. 
Under  these  circumstances,  announcing  that  he  was  holding  abed  of  justice 
—it  was  considered  the  law  that  his  order  to  register  could  no  longer  be  dis- 
obeyed. No  discussions  were  allowed,  obedience  only  was  required.  Tho 
king  had  the  power  of  banishing  the  whole  parliament,  in  case  of  its  being 
refractory,  and  this  prerogative  was  frequently  exercised  during  the  last  two 
centuries,  the  mcmbera  being  sent  to  some  town  fifty  or  sixty  miles  from 

Paris.  A 

VOL.  I.  4r 


38  THE  TREATY  OF  VIENNA. 

Other  result  than  to  scandalize  all  minds ;  the  unbelievers 
alone  profited  by  the  ridicule  that  fell  upon  both  par- 
ties. 

The  death  of  Augustus  II.,  king  of  Poland,  in  1733, 
presented  an  excellent  opportunity  for  France  to  stand 
forward  in  support  of  that  country,  which  had  already 
been  marked  out  by  its  neighbors,  Austria,  Russia,  and 
Prussia,  for  destruction.  The  Poles,  who  by  their  inter- 
nal factions  had  given  rise  to  the  culpable  hopes  of  these 
neighbors,  seeing  the  dangers  by  which  they  were  threat- 
ened, sought  to  avert  them  by  choosing  for  themselves 
a  national  king.  The  diet  bound  itself  by  oath  never  to 
•elect  a  foreign  prince  :  all  minds  turned  toward  Stanis- 
las Leczinski,  father  of  the  Queen  of  France,  and  the 
support  of  that  country  was  solicited.  But  Cardinal 
Fleury  did  not  sufficiently  comprehend  the  future  to  be 
aware  of  the  opportunity  which  thus  presented  itself  of 
putting  a  stop  to  the  progress  of  Russia,  and  when  Stan- 
islas was  elected  king  by  an  immense  majority,  the 
means  provided  for  him  by  France  were  so  inefficient, 
that  a  despicable  minority,  gained  over  by  the  gold  of 
the  enemies  of  their  country,  were  enabled  to  make  a 
counter  election  under  the  protection  of  foreign  bayonets. 
Stanislas  was  obliged  to  fly  from  Warsaw,  and  the  small 
French  force  sent  to  his  assistance  vpas  destroyed  by  the 
Russians. 

Though  Fleury  did  not  comprehend  the  policy  marked 
out  for  France  with  regard  to  Russia,  he  did  not  misun- 
derstand the  national  policy  with  regard  to  Austria,  and 
availed  himself  of  the  war  to  wrest  some  advantages 
from  this  ancient  enemy  of  France.  His  measures 
were  in  this  case  so  well  taken,  and  the  French  gener- 
als carried  on  matters  so  successfully,  that  the  epoch 
of  the  treaty  of  Vienna,  (1735,)  which  concluded  this 


TREATY  OF  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.  39 

war,  is  considered  the  only  glorious  moment  of  the  reign 
of  Louis  XV. 


CHAPTER  III. 

War — Madame  de  Pompadour — The  Savans — Schools  of  Philosophy — ^The 
Noblesse — The  Clergy — The  People — The  Middle  Classes — The  Jansen- 
ists — Contests  between  the  Parliament  and  the  Archbishop  of  Paris — In- 
terference of  the  King — War  with  England  in  North  America. 

The  war  which  soon  after  broke  out  between  Eng- 
land and  Spain,  wherein  France  took  a  prominent  part 
without  any  definite  object,  and  carried  it  on  at  an  im- 
mense expense  of  men  and  treasures,  was  concluded 
by  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  where  Louis,  though 
in  a  position  at  the  moment  to  stipulate  for  some  in- 
demnities for  the  500,000  men  that  had  been  sacrificed, 
for  the  ruined  navy,  and  for  twelve  hundred  millions 
(48,000,000Z.)  added  to  the  national  debt,  chose  to  renounce 
every  advantage  for  France,  saying  that  he  would  treat 
as  a  king,  and  not  as  a  shopkeeper ;  concealing  under 
these  absurd  words  his  desire  to  conclude  a  war  which 
swallowed  up  the  sums  which  he  would  rather  squander 
upon  his  infamous  pleasures. 

This  conduct  was  dictated  to  Louis  by  his  then  reign- 
ing mistress,  the  Marquise  de  Pompadour,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  last  of  the  five  sisters  de  Nesle,  who  had 
each  in  their  turn  enjoyed  this  disgraceful  distinction. 
Madame  de  Pompadour,  a  woman  of  low  birth,  but  of 
great  beauty  and  brilliant  education,  aided  by  some  na- 
tural abilities,  was  not  satisfied  with  the  title  of  the  king's 
mistress,  (though  such  was  the  state  of  morality  in  the 
court  of  France,  that  this  position  was  envied  by  the 
first  ladies  of  the  realm,)  but  she  aimed  at  being  a  state 


40  MADAME    DE    POMPADOUR. 

personage,  and  she  did  really  for  fifteen  years  enjoy  all 
the  power  of  a  minister  of  state.  The  court  was  se- 
duced by  lier  entertainments  and  her  prodigality  ;  the 
literary  men,  particularly  Voltaire,  were  gained  by  pen- 
sions and  by  flattery  ;  and  the  public  were  won  over  by 
an  affectation  of  benevolence,  charity,  and  a  mock  air 
of  philosophy  and  highmindedness.  Louis  XV.  enjoyed 
the  only  happiness  his  degenerate  soul  was  capable  of 
appreciating  ;  he  was  left  in  peace  in  his  private  apart- 
ments, where  he  led  a  life  of  indolence  and  profligacy, 
surrounded  by  a  few  favorite  courtiers,  and  relieved  of 
the  care  and  the  pomp  of  royalty.  Madame  de.  Pompa- 
dour, indifferent  to  the  affections  of  the  king,  though 
anxious  to  maintain  a  post  so  flattering  to  her  ambition, 
devised  means  to  attain  her  object,  the  infamy  of  which 
has  happily  never  been  equalled.  She  instituted  the 
Pare  au  cerf,  of  infamous  notoriety,  where,  while  she 
pandered  to  the  base  appetites  of  the  royal  libertine,  she 
systematically  degraded  and  demoralized  her  own  sex. 

A  government  sunk  into  such  depths  of  immorality 
was  but  too  favorable  for  the  progress  of  social  dissolu- 
tion, and  attacks  against  religion  began  to  assume  a  most 
alarming  character. 

All  minds  were  in  a  state  of  ferment.  The  different 
bodies  disputed  the  direction  of  the  most  important  af- 
fairs of  state ;  the  contest  lay  principally  between  the  par- 
liament and  the  clergy.  All  aspired  to  authority,  while 
the  monarch  allowed  his  to  decline  ;  all  were  in  move- 
ment, while  he  remained  inactive.  The  disputes  of  the 
priesthood  and  the  magistracy  became  so  furious  that 
a  civil  and  religious  war  was  to  be  feared.  Some  few 
statesmen,  who  desired  to  maintain  peace  ;  worldly  peo- 
ple, who  feu.fed  to  be  interrupted  in  the  midst  of  their 
pleasures;  and,  lastly,  the  sincerely  pious,  who  disavow- 


THE   NEW  SCHOOLS.  41 

ed,  in  the  name  of  religion,  those  excesses  of  which  they 
were  made  the  pretext,  called  on  the  men  of  letters  to 
calm  this  violent  commotion.  These  last  joined  to- 
gether to  stifle_,  with  the  subject  of  dispute,  the  horrors 
of  fanaticism  which  threatened  to  reappear ;  but  they 
worked  for  this  end  by  different  means.  Several  among 
them  wished  to  bring  about  a  complete  indifference  to 
religion ;  others  directed  the  minds  of  men  to  the  ob- 
servation of  nature  ;  while  some  proposed  for  their  ex- 
amination the  highest  thoughts  on  social  order.  Among 
these  were  some  of  great  learning  and  of  ardent  char- 
acter, endowed  with  that  perseverance  necessary  for 
great  undertakings,  and  with  that  ability  which  makes 
them  successful.  They  loved  novelty  either  from  the 
impulse  of  native  genius  or  from  the  desire  of  celebrity, 
which  was  their  ruling  passion.*  Voltaire  continued  to 
undermine  the  social  edifice,  led  on  as  it  would  seem  by 
the  mere  love  of  destruction  ;  but  though  he  continued 
to  be  the  first  power  in  the  literature  of  that  day,  his 
writings,  devoid  of  all  political  ideas,  no  longer  satisfied 
the  ardor  of  the  public,  not  only  intent  upon  destruction, 
but  also  upon  reform,  and  three  new  schools  were  estab- 
lished in  accordance  with  the  wants  and  desires  of  the 
times.  These  v/ere  Montesquieu's  political  school, 
Quesnay's  school  of  political  economy,  and  the  school 
of  materialism  represented  by  the  Encydopedie. 

Montesquieu  was  the  first  of  the  philosophical  reform- 
ers who  attempted  to  mark  out  a  theory  of  government 
in  conformity  with  their  ideas,  and  when  his  Esprit  des 
Lois  appeared  in  1748,  this  first  dogmatical  work  on  in- 
stitutions was  received  with  enthusiasm,  though,  com- 
pared to  the  irreligious  boldness  of  other  works  of  the 

*  Lacretelle. 

4* 


42  THE    MATERIALISTS. 

day,  it  must  have  appeared  very  moderate.  This  very 
moderation,  however,  ensured  its  success,  for  it  was  not 
only  the  reformers  who  found  in  it  a  wide  field  for  specu- 
lation, but  all  the  statesmen  of  Europe  were  proud  of 
proclaiming  themselves  his  disciples. 

The  economists,  headed  by  Quesnay,  directed  their 
efforts  for  reform  towards  the  science  of  administration, 
found  in  the  vices  of  the  existing  system,  the  fountain 
from  which  flowed  all  the  miseries  of  France,  and  based 
upon  the  ameliorations  they  proposed  making,  the  bright- 
est hopes  of  future  prosperity.  Quesnay  considered 
agriculture  as  the  source  of  all  wealth,  and  declaimed 
against  the  government  which  pressed  upon  the  farmer 
and  the  proprietor  in  many  different  ways ;  he  combated 
the  existing  mercantile  system  with  its  protections  and 
prohibitions,  and  claimed  entire  liberty  of  commerce, 
particularly  in  corn  ;  he  wished  to  reduce  all  imposts  to 
one  tax  upon  the  net  produce  of  land.  Though  this 
school  did  not  enjoy  as  great  popularity  as  the  less  prac- 
tical ones,  which  allowed  greater  scope  for  the  imagina- 
tion, the  effects  of  the  principles  it  advocated  were  more 
immediately  felt,  and  France  was  indebted  to  its  efforts 
for  the  famous  edict  of  1754,  which  took  off'  all  restric- 
tions on  the  trade  in  corn. 

The  Dictionnaire  Encyclopedique,  which  is  generally 
considered  the  great  caldron  wherein  was  concocted  all 
the  poisonous  ingredients  which,  during  the  revolution 
of  1789,  spread  a  moral  pestilence  over  the  world,  owed 
its  origin  to  Diderot  and  D'Alembert,  the  chiefs  of  the 
school  of  materialism,  which  denied  the  existence  of 
every  thing  which  did  not  come  under  the  cognizance  of 
the  senses, — of  every  thing  the  existence  of  which  can- 
not be  mathematically  demonstrated  ;  in  one  word,  the 
existence  of  the  soul,  and  of  the  Deity,  but  nevertheless 


INDIFFERENCE    OP    THE    KING.  43 

maintained  the  perfectibility  of  human  nature.  It  was 
their  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  this  last  idea  which 
gave  rise  to  the  Encyclopedie,  that  immense  repository 
of  human  knowledge,  begun  in  1751,  "which  was  meant 
to  be  a  vast  engine  of  war  against  religion,  which  was 
in  reality  but  a  tower  of  Babel,  to  which  all  minds,  even 
those  of  the  most  contradictory  characters,  brought  their 
stone."* 

While  the  work  of  social  destruction  was  progressing, 
the  government,  though  too  weak  to  venture  upon  any 
open  acts  of  despotism,  permitted  the  most  arbitrary 
systems  to  be  carried  on  in  every  branch  of  administra- 
tion. The  king,  who  maintained  an  external  appearance 
of  religious  devotion  in  the^midst  of  his  licentious  pleas- 
ures, expressed  himself  loudly  against  all  innovations ; 
but  though  he  foresaw  the  future  catastrophe,  he  troubled 
himself  very  little  about  it,  consoling  himself  with  the 
words  :  "  Afler  us  the  deluge."  His  mistress,  his  cour- 
tiers, and  even  his  ministers,  not  only  regarded  the  pro- 
gress of  the  philosophers  as  harmless,  but  were  them- 
selves imbued  with  their  doctrines,  and  tlie  resistance 
of  the  government  to  the  growth  of  incredulity  was  weak 
and  undecided,  while  by  administrative  measures,  it 
openly  favored  its  progress  and  undermined  the  power 
of  the  church.  It  supported  the  Jesuits,  yet  it  forbade 
the  establishment  of  any  new  convents  or  monasteries 
without  the  royal  consent.  An  edict  was  promulgated 
(1749)  which  deprived  the  clergy  of  the  right  of  acquir- 
ing nev"  property  ;  propositions  were  made  to  substitute 
a  regular  tax  upon  church  property,  for  the  usual  don 
gratuit  of  the  clergy.  In  a  word,  the  government, 
though  affecting  to  despise  public  opinion,  was  led  en- 

*  Lavallee. 


44  DEGENERACY  OF  THE  CLERGY. 

tirely  by  it,  but  at  the  same  time  it  sought  in  no  way  te 
meet  the  salutary  reforms  that  were  called  for.  The 
imposts  were  augmented,  the  privileges  of  the  faxjs  des 
etats  were  suppressed  without  resistance,  every  abuse 
was  continued,  and  nothing  worthy  of  commendation  was 
established.  The  nobility  generally,  particularly  the 
noblesse  de  coiir,  far  from  considering  themselves  threat- 
ened by  the  philosophical  ideas  which  were  spreading  sc 
fast,  on  the  contrary  adopted  these  notions  themselves, 
not  from  conviction,  or  with  any  view  of  carrying  thei^ 
out  into  practice,  but  from  a  frivolous  love  of  novelty 
and  notoriety,  and  particularly  because  the  epicurean 
doctrines  of  Voltaire  favored  their  licentious  manners. 
Though  some  of  the  nobles  showed  so  much  alarm  at 
the  spreading  of  the  new  doctrine,  that,  according  to 
Duclos,  "  they  feared  the  philosophers  as  thieves  feared 
the  lamp-post,"  it  was  nevertheless  the  fashion  to  pat- 
ronise even  the  most  unscrupulous  among  the  atheists, 
and  to  associate  with  them  on  a  footing  of  perfect  equal- 
ity, in  spite  of  the  great  distinction  which  was  even  then 
made  between  the  nobles  and  the  roturiers,  to  which  class 
a  great  many  of  the  literary  men  belonged.  But  the  no- 
bility  of  that  day  cannot  be  better  characterized  than  by 
saying  that  it  imitated  all  the  vices  of  the  king.* 

The  clergy,  wavering  between  intolerance  and  frivolity, 
wishing  to  put  a  stop  to  the  spreading  of  the  opinions  of 
the  day,  yet  too  frequently  adopting  the  morals  of  the 
times,  invoking  against  skepticism  the  despised  severity 
of  a  corrupt  power,  instead  of  combating  it  with  know- 
ledge and  capacity — the  clergy,  and  particularly  the  high 
clergy,  remained  weak,  and  were  defeated  on  all  sides 
in  the  midst  of  the  general  movement.     They  had  no 


*  Villemain,  Lavallee. 


THE    PEOPLE.  45 

replies  to  give  to  Voltaire's  falsehoods,  sarcasms,  and 
false  erudition  ;  they  scarcely  ventured  to  emit  a  few 
feeble  apologies,  or  some  ineffective  charges  drawn  up 
without  skill  or  power.  They  were  much  more  anxious 
to  preserve  their  riches,  than  to  proclaim  their  crucified 
God  ;  being  incapable  of  any  longer  guiding  the  human 
mind,  they  began  to  quail  before  it,  and  trembling,  called 
upon  it  to  stop.  The  dogmas  of  evangelical  morality 
were  no  longer  heard  from  the  pulpit,  for  the  clergy 
sought  forgiveness  for  their  holy  mission,  by  a  display 
of  worldly  complacency.  Faith  was  replaced  by  com- 
mon morality,  charity  by  social  justice,  the  laws  of  God 
by  the  rights  of  the  people.  The  sanctuary  was  aban- 
doned. 

After  contemplating  the  condition  of  this  royalty,  so 
inert  and  degraded — of  this  noblesse,  so  vicious  and  tend-  • 
ing  towards  social  dissolution — of  this  clergy,  without 
virtue,  without  zeal,  and  without  learning  ;  let  us  see 
what  part  those  sections  of  the  nation  played  upon  whom 
all  the  social  inequalities  pressed  so  heavily.  The  lower 
classes,  both  in  town  and  country,  were  brutal,  ignorant, 
and  miserable  ;  more  miserable  in  some  respects  than 
they  had  been  in  the  middle  ages.  Industry  was  shack-, 
led  by  the  corporations,  the  apprenticeships,  the  system 
of  oaths  ;  all  this  legislation  of  Colbert  became  an  intol- 
erable combination  of  petty  tyrannies.  Agriculture  was 
oppressed  by  feudal  service,  tithes,  forced  labor,  right 
of  chase,  and  a  crowd  of  absurd  privileges  enjoyed  by 
the  nobility.  The  working  classes  had  preserved  their 
religious  faith,  because  they  were  under  the  influence 
of  only  the  poor  and  evangelical  part  of  the  clergy. 
They  detested  the  great  landed  proprietors,  (seigneurs,) 
because  they  found  in  them  their  immediate  and  constant 
tyrants  ;  they  had  not  any  affection  for  the  government, 


46  THE    MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

in  which  they  saw  nothing  but  insatiable  and  merciless 
tax-gatherers,  a  despotic  police,  a  luxurious  and  corrupt 
court,  and  a  debauched  king.  Philosophical  ideas  had 
not  penetrated  as  far  as  the  multitude,  but  they  had  nev- 
ertheless a  sort  of  instinctive  desire  for  social  renovation, 
which  resolved  itself,  according  to  their  view,  in  the 
abolition  of  all  privileges. 

The  middle  classes  (la  bourgeoisie)  had  never  been  so 
active,  so  rich,  so  enlightened  ;  it  was  those  classes  who 
formed  public  opinion,  and  who  were  the  strength  of  the 
state.  They  equalled  the  noblesse  in  fortune  and  in 
style  of  living,  and  surpassed  the  clergy  in  education ; 
they  possessed  the  social  virtues  in  a  much  higher  de- 
gree than  these  two  classes,  yet  they  were  not  permitted 
to  attain  to  superior  rank  in  the  army,  nor  to  ecclesiasti- 
cal dignities,  nor  to  high  offices  in  the  administration  : 
almost  all  the  weight  of  the  taxes  fell  upon  them  ;  it  was 
they  who  had  the  most  to  suffer  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
ministers,  from  the  vengeance  of  the  courtiers,  from  the 
iniquity  ofthe  police.  These  classes  were  full  of  ardor 
in  embracing  the  new  opinions  called  philosophical,  full 
of  confidence  in  their  own  strength,  and  of  faith  in  the 
future.  Beholding  the  highest  ranks  of  society  revelling 
in  the  depths  of  sin,  and  parading  with  effrontery  all  their 
coarse  depravity  before  the  eyes  of  the  public,  feeling 
that  those  in  authority  did  less  for  them  in  proportion  as 
their  strength  and  their  desires  increased  ;  they  began 
to  think  that  it  belonged  to  them  to  take  affairs  into  their 
own  hands  ;  and  already  they  meditated  on  the  necessity 
of  calling  at  the  same  time  on  the  crown  for  liberty,  on 
the  aristocracy  for  equality,  and  on  the  clergy  for  the 
rights  ofthe  human  intellect.* 

*  Guizot. 


THE    MIDDLE    CLASSES.  47 

Just  as  the  antagonism  against  the  higher  classes  was 
revealing  itself,  and  gradually  gaining  strength,  the  con- 
tests between  these  classes,  contests  which  had  hitherto 
formed  a  prominent  feature  in  French  history,  had  ceased 
This  was  the  necessary  consequence  of  their  common 
decay.  The  aristocracy  and  the  clergy,  submissive  to 
the  throne,  protected  it  by  the  sword  and  the  censer,  in 
return  for  its  defence  of  their  privileges.  These  three 
parties,  reconciled  to  each  other,  entered  into  an  intimate 
and  mutual  alliance  for  maintaining  all  existing  things, 
whether  just  or  unjust,  by  all  and  any  means  whatever — 
an  imprudent  alliance,  at  least  on  the  part  of  the  clergy, 
and  of  the  throne,  whose  conversion  rather  than  whose 
ruin  the  people  desired,  and  which  hastened  their  com- 
mon destruction. 

Tiie  state  of  public  feeling  towards  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  seemed  to  threaten  an  approaching 
war  between  the  people  and  the  ruling  powers.  But  the 
people  had  not  yet  concentrated  all  their  strength  and  all 
their  hatred  ;  the  ruling  powers  had  not  yet  heaped  up 
the  measure  of  their  iniquities.  The  clergy  were  yet  to 
complete  their  fall  by  miserable  disputes,  through  which 
the  two  parties  dividing  society,  the  Jesuits  and  the  Jan- 
senists,  would  be  destroyed. 

In  the  mean  time  disputes  continued  between  the  cler- 
gy and  the  Jansenists,  whose  only  adherents  were  now 
to  be  found  in  the  parliaments,  and  the  measures  which 
were  taken  finally  to  put  them  down,  were  unfortunately 
of  a  nature  still  farther  to  aggravate  the  evils  to  which 
these  dissensions  had  given  rise. 

According  to  orders  received  from  the  archbishop,  the 
curates  of  Paris  refused  to  administer  the  last  sacrament 
to  those  who  could  not  present  a  lillet  de  confession, 
signed  by  a  Molinist  priest,  (1752.)     Upon  learning  this 


48  THE    PARLIAMENT. 

the  parliament  interfered  in  a  most  intemperate  manner, 
ordered  a  curate  who  had  acted  in  conformity  to  the  or- 
ders of  his  superior  to  be  arrested,  declared  that  the  bull 
was  not  an  article  of  faith,  and  forbade  the  clergy  to  re- 
fuse the  sacrament.  The  latter,  however,  pereisted, 
and  the  parliament  then  had  recourse  to  military  force, 
and  had  the  sacrament  administered  in  the  midst  of  their 
bayonets.  It  is  easily  conceived  what  must  have  been 
the  effects  of  such  scandalous  scenes  on  a  skeptical  and 
demoralized  public.  A  mixture  of  fanaticism  and  im- 
piety, rage  and  ridicule,  produced  a  most  deplorable  state 
of  anarchy,  which  was  fast  dissolving  the  social  body. 
The  court  wavered  between  the  two  parties ;  the  min- 
isters were  ranged  upon  different  sides.  At  last  the  par- 
liament seized  upon  the  property  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris,  remonstrated  vigorously  against  the  ministerial 
despotism  which  supported  the  clergy,  and  declared  that 
It  would  remain  sitting  until  it  had  obtained  justice.  In 
consequence  of  these  measures  the  whole  parliament 
was  exiled,  (1753,)  and  a  chamdre provisoire  wsis  created 
to  administer  justice  ;  public  opinion,  however,  was  so 
opposed  to  this  chamber,  that  the  parliament  was  soon 
recalled,  but  at  the  same  time  all  discussions  on  religious 
subjects  were  forbidden  by  order  of  the  king,  who  was 
disagreeably  disturbed  in  his  pleasures  by  these  discus- 
sions. 

The  clergy,  however,  soon  recommenced  the  disputes ; 
the  court  then  declared  itself  in  favor  of  the  parliament, 
and  the  Archbishop  of  Paris  was  in  his  turn  exiled.  But 
in  the  exultation  of  victory,  the  parliament  forgot  moder- 
ation ;  it  suppressed  a  very  indulgent  brief  of  Benedict 
XIV.,  who  had  endeavored  to  put  a  stop  to  the  dissen- 
sions ;  it  openly  attacked  the  bull  that  had  been  declared 
the  law  of  the  state,  and  insisted  upon  uniting  itself  with 


MEASURES  TO  SUPPRESS  THE  PARLIAMENT.  49 

'he  other  parliaments  of  the  kingdom,  which  should  thus 
form  a  kind  of  confederacy ;  refused  to  enregister  the 
taxes,  and  aimed  at  arrogating  to  itself  the  power  of  the 
States-General. 

The  king,  incited  by  the  clergy,  determined  to  put 
down  the  refractory  magistrates  in  a  most  decided  man- 
ner, and  for  that  end  held  a  bed  of  justice,  wherein  all 
the  steps  taken  by  the  parliament  were  declared  illegal, 
and  this  body  was  prohibited  for  the  future  from  inter- 
fering in  these  matters. 

The  chambre  des  enqueles  was  suppressed,  the  organi- 
zation of  the  other  chambers  altered,  and  who  ever  dared 
to  stray  from  the  duties  imposed  upon  them,  were  threat- 
ened with  the  royal  displeasure.  Upon  this  one  hundred 
and  fifty  members  of  the  parliament  tendered  their  resig- 
nation. Paris  was  in  a  ferment,  and  ready  to  revolt  at 
the  slightest  word  from  the  magistrates,  for  though  the 
parliament,  as  well  as  all  the  other  bodies  in  the  state, 
was  thoroughly  demoralized,  and  had  swerved  entirely 
from  its  original  intention,  it  was  identified  by  the  peo- 
ple with  the  cause  of  resistance  to  the  royal  power,  and 
therefore  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  guardians  of  their 
liberties.  Its  disgrace  was  considered  a  public  calamity, 
and  full  vent  was  given  to  the  feelings  of  disgust  and 
execration  with  which  the  king  was  regarded. 

In  the  mean  time  war  had  broken  out  between  Eng- 
land and  France  in  North  America,  and  was  soon  suc- 
ceeded by  the  seven  years'  war,  during  which  the  king 
and  the  nobility  of  France  forfeited  their  last  claims  to 
the  esteem  of  the  people,  and  during  which  the  disasters 
of  the  army  were  only  equalled  by  the  miserable  state 
of  the  finances.  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  chose  the 
rahiisters  as  she  did  the  generals,  from  among  the  class 
of  abject  courtiers  that  surrounded  her,  considered  do- 

VOL.  I.  5 


50  THEORIES. 

cility  to  her  demands  the  first  quality  in  the  comptrollei 
of  the  finances,  and  immense  sums  were  squandered 
away  for  the  most  infamous  purposes,  while  the  ministers 
of  finance  were  reduced  to  the  most  immoral  and  disas- 
trous means  for  furnishing  the  treasury. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Rising  importance  of  France  as  a  Nation — The  Philosopliers — Blind  securi- 
ty of  tlie  Government — Fall  of  the  Jesuits — Death  of  the  Dauphin — Slate 
of  the  Finances — Marriage  of  Louis  wiih  Marie  Antoinette — Suppression 
of  tlie  Parliaments — Misery  of  tlie  People — Facte  de  Famine — Death  of 
Louis  XV. 

While  the  degradation  of  the  government  continued 
to  progress,  France  rose  as  a  nation.  The  supremacy 
which  it  had  obtained  under  Louis  XIV.,  by  the  glory  of 
its  arms  and  its  social  splendor,  was  inferior  to  that 
which  it  enjoyed  under  Louis  XV.,  simply  by  the  force 
of  intellect.  Literature  stood  in  the  place  flf  glory, 
power,  and  liberty.  All  eyes  were  upon  her.  There 
was  not  a  sovereign  or  a  statesman  who,  either  from  hy- 
pocrisy or  from  blindness,  did  not  flatter  political  philoso- 
phy, hoping  to  make  it  an  instrument  either  of  despotism 
or  of  popularity. 

Theories  were  formed  by  M'hich  the  happiness  of  the 
human  race  was  to  be  ensured  ;  probity,  honor,  citizen- 
ship, the  love  of  humanity,  appeared  such  simple  vir- 
tues, that  attempts  were  made  to  reduce  them  to  rules, 
the  same  as  an  arithmetical  calculation.  These  noble 
sentiments  were  submitted  to  an  analysis,  from  which  it 
was  said  they  would  come  out  purer  and  more  fruitful  in 
good,  but  which  had  no  other  effect  than  to  corrupt  them. 

In  this  great  shipwreck  of  all  ideas,  moral  and  reli- 


ROUSSEAU.  51 

gious,  political  and  social ;  in  this  anarchy  of  thou<rht, 
which  tended  to  pass  into  action  ;  while  Voltaire  and 
the  Encyclopedists,  Montesquieu  and  the  Economists 
only  destroyed, — a  powerful  genius  arose,  who  pretend- 
ed to  build  up,  to  reanimate  ideality,  to  lay  a  political 
foundation  for  a  new  state  of  society  :  this  was  J.  J. 
Rousseau.  The  skepticism  of  Voltaire,  the  atheism  of 
Diderot,  the  egoism  of  Helvetius,  appeared  much  less 
attractive  than  the  Sociuian  faith,  the  passionate  spiritu- 
ality, and  even  the  ideas  of  self-devotion  and  of  duty, 
put  forth  by  this  unstable  man  of  genius.  Till  he  ap- 
peared, the  philosophers  had  sought  to  convert  only  the 
higher  classes  to  their  doctrines ;  but  he  addressed  the 
masses.  None  had  more  boldly  promoted  a  political  re- 
volution. Yet  this  pretended  re-constructor  destroyed 
more  than  all  the  othei-s ;  he  excited  the  sympathies  more, 
and  had  more  disciples.  His  school  was  more  sincere, 
more  serious,  more  enthusiastic,  than  the  other  schools 
of  philosophy  ;  it  had  a  true  and  generous  faith  in  the 
future ;  it  saw  the  revolution  approach  with  a  grave  and 
solemn  joy.  But  unhappily  it  was  wholly  visionary,  rev- 
elling in  theories  which  could  not  be  reduced  to  practice, 
and  wanting  that  firm  foundation  of  religious  principle 
without  which  all  reforms  must  in  time  prove  fallacious. 

Rousseau's  character  and  conduct  as  a  man  were  des- 
picable ;  showing  that  impulse  or  personal  feeling,  rather 
than  principle,  impelled  him  to  put  forth  his  vague  and 
unsound  fancies  with  regard  to  the  social  state  ;  thus  he 
has  left  a  memory  more  worthy  of  the  tears  than  of  the 
gratitude  of  posterity. 

What  a  lesson  do  the  pernicious  effects  of  the  theories 
of  these  philosophers  read  to  future  ages.     All  foresaw* 

*  Voltaire  wrote  exultingly :  "I  have  done  more  in  my  time  than  Luthel 
and  Calvin  ;  every  thing  1  see  gives  evidence  of  the  seedu  of  a  revolution, 


52  FALL    OP    THE    JESUITS. 

a  revolution,  all  vaguely  expected  that  some  unknown 
good  would  arise  out  of  the  ashes  of  that  destruction 
which  they  so  mercilessly  assisted  in  bringing  about. 
Genius  and  profound  thought  were  engaged  in  forming 
theories  for  the  renovation  of  France  ;  they  destroyed 
but  could  not  build  up,  because  they  were  wanting  in 
the  vital  principle.  Religion,  veneration,  humility,  reli- 
ance on  God,  were  forgotten  in  the  all-absorbing  sense 
of  the  dignity  and  perfectibility  of  our  own  nature.  There 
was  nothing  divine  in  these  speculations  for  the  improve- 
ment of  mankind,  and  therefore  they  crumbled  into  dust, 
involving  in  their  own  ruin,  venerable  institutions,  in 
which  still  was  preserved,  though  amid  corruption,  that 
latent  spark  of  divine  good,  which  might  have  revivified 
and  again  given  life  to  the  whole. 

After  the  conclusion  of  the  seven  years'  war,  the 
rumbling  of  the  volcano  that  was  soon  to  burst  in  France 
became  more  and  more  distinct,  and  one  stone  after  an- 
other was  loosened  from  the  ancient  monarchy  of  France, 
while  the  rulers  looked  on  in  calm  content,  thinking  that 
it  was  their  strength  which  was  destroying  what  was  in 
their  way,  not  aware  that  the  edifice  was  crumbling  to 
pieces  from  internal  rottenness.  The  Jesuits,  whose 
power  had,  for  the  last  century,  been  on  the  wane,  and 
who  had  particularly  suffered  in  public  opinion  in  France, 
since  their  dissensions  with  the  Jansenists,  at  last  suc- 
cumbed under  the  blows  which  were  directed  against 
them  from  all  sides,  and  the  church,  one  of  the  pillars  of 

which  will  infallibly  arrive,  and  which  I  shall  not  have  the  pleasure  of  wit- 
nessing. The  smothered  flame  is  spreading  nearer  and  nearer,  and  it  will 
burst  out  on  the  first  occasion ;  then  there  will  be  a  fine  turmoil.  The 
young  are  very  happy  ;  they  will  see  extraordinary  things." — Lettre  a  M. 
de  Chauvdin,  17G2. 

Rouspeau  wrote  in  17C0  :  "  VVe  approach  the  time  of  crisis  and  the  ageot 
revolution.  I  consider  it  impossible  that  the  great  powers  of  Europe  can 
last  much  longer." 


FINANCIAL    DIFFICULTIES.  53 

the  state,  lost  its  firmest  support.  The  court,  the  royal 
family,  and  all  ranks  in  the  kingdom,  were  in  so  excited 
a  state,  that  Louis  XV.  felt  himself  obliged  to  take  meas- 
ures against  the  Jesuits  ;  but  while  consenting  to  their 
abolition,  he  wished  it  to  appear  that  he  had  been  forced 
into  this  measure,  as  if  the  greatest  danger  to  kings  was 
not  in  acknowledging  the  constraint  under  which  they 
act.  The  parliament  exulted,  but  its  time  was  also  soon 
to  come. 

While  the  king  continued  his  profligate  course,  regard- 
less of  public  affairs,  he  was  overtaken  by  domestic  ca- 
lamities. The  dauphin,  whose  virtues  formed  a  touching 
contrast  to  the  depravity  of  the  court,  died,  (1765,)  leav- 
ing three  sons,  all  future  kings  of  France.  Louis,  in  the 
first  access  of  his  grief,  returned  to  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  and  for  a  while  seemed  to  have  renounced  his 
vicious  habits  ;  but  this  was  but  of  short  duration,  and 
on  the  death  of  his  amiable  queen  in  1768,  he  replunged 
into  all  his  former  excesses. 

The  peace  had  sufficed,  in  a  certain  measure,  to  re- 
store industry  and  commerce,  but  it  could  not  re-estab- 
iish  the  finances.  The  seven  years'  war  had  added 
thirty-four  millions  of  rentes  to  the  debt.  Although  all 
the  war  taxes  were  continued,  the  expenses  every  year 
exceeded  the  receipts.  The  financial  operations  were 
carried  on  by  anticipating  and  borrowing.  \n  the  col- 
lecting and  distributing  of  the  revenue,  defalcations  and 
robberies  were  committed  to  an  extent  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  ascertain.  All  the  comptrollers  sank  under  these 
difficulties  ;  as  soon  as  they  spoke  of  the  reduction  of 
ex]  enses,  of  the  equal  assessment  of  imposts,  of  reforms 
in  the  collecting  of  taxes ;  they  raised  against  them- 
selves the  court,  the  privileged,  and  the  farmers  of  the 
revenues.     Choiseul,  an  indifferent  statesman,  troubled 

5* 


64  FINANCIAL  DIFFICULTIES. 

himself  but  little  as  to  the  state  of  the  finances,  which 
was  undermining  the  foundation  of  the  throne.  He 
hoped  one  day  to  restore  these  by  the  suppression  of  mon- 
asteries, and  a  tax  upon  ecclesiastical  property.  Like  al- 
most all  the  nobles,  he  stopped  at  the  philosophy  of  Vol- 
taire, and  his  hatred  against  the  clergy  ;  he  despised  the 
Encyclopedists,  and  hated  Rousseau  ;  he  wished  to  re- 
store the  monarchy,  by  regenerating  the  noblesse,  and 
by  giving  it  the  support  of  the  parliaments. 

During  this  dreadful  state  of  the  finances  and  misery 
of  the  working  classes,  while  a  distressing  scarcity  and 
consequent  riots  raged  in  Paris,  the  marriage  of  the  Dukf> 
de  Berri,  become  dauphin  by  the  death  of  his  father, 
took  place  with  the  Archduchess  Marie  Antoinette, 
daughter  of  Maria  Theresa,  empress  of  Austria.  The 
festivals  in  honor  of  this  event  were  celebrated  with  the 
most  ej^traordinary  pomp  and  prodigality,  forming  a  re- 
volting contrast  to  the  scenes  through  which  the  poorer 
classes  were  struggling.  During  a  fete  given  in  the 
Place  Louis  XV.,  a  frightful  catastrophe  occurred,  in 
which  eleven  or  twelve  hundred  persons  lost  their  lives  : 
a  fearful  omen  of  the  mistakes  and  misfortunes  which 
were  to  follow,  and  darken  the  future  lives  of  this  amia- 
ble and  ill-fated  young  couple.  The  parliaments,  since 
their  victory  over  the  Jesuits,  believed  themselves  the 
prop  of  society,  and  the  masters  of  the  government. 
While  on  one  side  they  reacted  violently  against  in- 
credulity, in  pursuing  the  philosophers  and  their  works, 
and  endeavored  to  reanimate  the  fanaticism  extinguished 
by  the  iniquitous  condemnation  of  Galas  and  La  Barre,* 

*  Calas,  a  Protf^stant  of  Toulouse,  accused  of  having  killed  his  son  who 
wished  to  become  a  Catholic,  was  condemned  to  the  wheel  and  executed. 
His  innocence  was  afterwards  ascertained,  and  fully  established  through  the 
generous  and  unremitting  exertions  of  Voltaire. 

La  Barre,  "vehemently  suspected  of  liaving  broken  a  cross,"  waa  be 
beaded. 


DISMISSAL  OF  CHOISEUL.  55 

on  the  other  hand  they  braved  the  governors  and  intend- 
ants  of  the  provinces,  and  were  opposed  to  all  money 
edicts.  The  government  finding  them  too  strong  for  its 
weakness,  resolved  upon  their  ruin. 

Choiseul  upheld  the  pretensions  of  the  parliament, 
which  continued  to  increase  till  it  came  to  an  open  strug- 
gle with  the  throne.  The  king  held  a  bed  of  justice, 
and  annulled  its  arret  against  the  Duke  d'Aiguillon — 
the  parliament  declined  to  continue  its  judicial  functions. 
The  minister  having  excited,  by  his  unconcealed  dis- 
gust, the  enmity  of  the  new  and  infamous  mistress  of 
the  king,  she  succeeded  in  obtaining  his  exile.  This 
dismissal  was  considered  as  a  public  calamity,  especially 
when  his  place  was  filled  by  D'Aiguillon.  This  man 
had  been  governor  of  Brittany,  and  had  excited  the 
most  violent  hatred  by  his  tyranny  and  extortion.  The 
attorney-general,  La  Chalotais,  declared  that  it  was  the 
united  wish  of  all  Brittany  to  be  delivered  from  so 
worthless  a  governor.  La  Chalotais,  the  friend  of  Choi- 
seul, and  the  enemy  of  the  Jesuits,  well  known  by  his 
report  against  the  order,  had  been,  by  the  secret  intrigues 
of  the  Jesuits,  and  on  the  information  of  the  governor, 
arrested,  accused  of  a  conspiracy  for  overthrowing  the 
monarchy,  and  threatened  with  sentence  of  death.  The 
parliaments  had  made  energetic  remonstrances,  and  pub- 
lic opinion  was  strongly  in  favor  of  the  accused.  Through 
the  entreaties  of  CHoiseul,  the  king  had  stopped  the 
proceedings,  and  sent  Chalotais  into  exile.  D'Aiguillon, 
recalled  from  the  government  of  Brittany,  had  assisted 
in  the  intrigue  for  the  downfall  of  the  minister,  and  he 
and  his  coadjutors  soon  completed  their  work,  by  the 
suppression  of  the  parliament. 

On  the  night  of  the  19th  January,  1771,  all  the  mem- 
bers of  parliament  were  arrested  in  tteir  houses,  and 


56  FALL  OF  THE  PARLIAMENT. 

summoned  to  answer  simply  "  Yes,"  or  "  No,"  to  an  or' 
der  for  resuming  their  functions.     All  answered  "  No.' 
Then  an  arret  of  the  council  declared  their  places  for- 
feited, and  condemned  them  to  exile. 

The  power  which  the  parliaments  possessed,  the 
place  which  they  held  in  the  kingdom,  the  prominent 
part  which  they  had  been  able  so  lately  to  play,  all  con- 
curred in  creating  a  belief  that  a  revolution  must  follow 
such  a  cotip  d''etat,  which  even  Louis  XIV.  would  not 
have  attempted.  Princes  and  peers  protested  ;  the  com 
dcs  aides  and  the  provincial  parliaments  were  loud  in 
remonstrances  and  menaces.  But  the  agitation  stopped 
there.  The  philosophers  applauded,  as  they  had  ap- 
plauded the  destruction  of  the  Jesuits.  The  govern- 
ment still  continued  to  work  for  them.  The  people  re- 
mained unmoved.  In  order  to  gain  public  opinion,  it 
was  decreed  that  justice  should  be  exercised  gratuitously, 
that  magisterial  places  should  no  longer  be  hereditary, 
and  that  a  new  code,  both  civil  and  criminal,  should  be 
formed.  These  were  reforms  which  the  philcsophers 
had  many  times  called  for. 

The  king  held  a  bed  of  justice,  in  which  he  formally 
suppressed  the  parliament  of  Paris,  and  the  cour  des 
aides ;  transformed  the  grand  conseil  into  a  new  par- 
liament, and  divided  its  jurisdiction  into  six  conscils  su- 
perieurs.  This  was  the  work  of  the  Chancellor  Mau 
peou,  who  was  in  strict  alliance  with  the  favorite. 

All  the  other  parliaments  submitted  with  more  or  less 
opposition  to  the  same  recomposition  ;  and  at  the  end 
of  a  year  this  great  body  of  the  magistracy  had  disap- 
peared, as  if  by  enchantment,  and  without  resistance. 
"  Everybody  was  stupified  by  a  change  so  easily  made. 
The  court  was  so  blind  as  to  believe  that  the  nation 
wished  for  a  des^witic  monarchy ;  no  one  understood  the 


EXULTATION  OF  THE  COURT.  57 

terrible  lesson  which  it  taught.  It  showed  that  all  the 
wheels  of  the  government  machinery  were  entirely  rot- 
ton,  since  even  the  organ  of  resistance,  touched  by  the 
finger  of  the  minion  of  a  prostitute,  fell  into  dust.  But 
neither  Louis  XV.  nor  Maupeou  discerned  any  thing 
more  than  that  the  king  was  stronger  than  Louis  XIV., 
— the  chancellor  greater  than  Richelieu.  They  had  re- 
stored absolute'  monarchy,  since  the  two  parties  which 
divided  society — the  Jesuits  and  the  Jansenists — had 
disappeared.  With  what  phrensy  were  all  the  social 
powers  then  struck,  since  they  strove  only  to  destroy 
each  other !  And  by  what  hands  !  Madame  de  Pom- 
padour had  overthrown  the  Jesuits,  Madame  Dubarry  the 
Jansenists.  These  were  the  champions  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Louis  XV.  Blind  royalty  !  that  applauded  it- 
self for  having  broken  the  only  two  weapons  which 
could  resist  innovation,  and  who  believed  itself  at  the 
apogee  of  its  power,  because  it  remained  alone  before 
the  people  !" 

The  ruin  of  the  parliaments  enabled  the  corrupt  court 
to  traffic  with  still  greater  impunity  in  places,  pensions, 
and  every  thing  by  which  money  could  be  obtained.  The 
expenses  of  the  king  and  his  abandoned  mistress  were 
enormous,  and  the  deficiency  of  .the  year  (in  1770) 
amounted  to  seventy-four  millions.  A  national  bank- 
ruptcy ensued  ;  and  the  people  were  grievously  oppress- 
ed by  the  injustice  and  dishonesty  which  were  practised 
by  the  government  to  raise  money. 

The  middle  class,  with  its  flourishing  commerce,  sup- 
ported this  enormous  burden  ;  but  it  was  not  so  with  the 
people,  who,  besides  the  shackles  placed  upon  industry, 
and  the  numberless  charges  which  took  from  them  the 
produce  of  their  labor,  had  also  to  suffer  from  continual 
scarcities  of  food,  brought  on  by  the  most  infamous  ma- 


58  FACTE  DE  FAMINE. 

ncBuvres.  Freedom  of  internal  commerce  in  grain,  de- 
creed in  1754,  had  been  revoked  during  the  seven  years' 
war;  but,  in  1764,  the  economists  had  caused  it  to  be 
re-established,  and  even  had  obtained  liberty  for  exporta- 
tion. Then  a  secret  society  was  formed,  (in  which  the 
king  himself  held  shares  for  ten  millions  of  francs,) 
which  bought  up  all  the  corn  and  exported  it,  thus  caus- 
ing the  price  to  rise  enormously,  and  then  reimported 
the  same  grain  with  immense  profits.  The  public  clamor 
became  so  great,  that  in  1770  the  minister  was  obliged 
to  forbid  the  free  circulation  of  grain,  but  the  pacte  de 
famine  was  not  destroyed.  The  buying  up  continued 
in  the  interior.  The  king  openly  jobbed  in  the  prices 
of  corn,  boasting  to  everybody  of  the  infernal  lucre 
which  he  made  out  of  his  suffering  subjects.  The  so- 
ciety did  not  bring  into  the  market  the  grain  so  iniqui- 
tously  bought  up,  till  the  latest  moment,  when  either  the 
people  must  have  revolted  or  have  died  of  hunger.  No 
one  dared  to  expose  this  abominable  pacte,  which  had 
accomplices  everywhere,  even  in  the  parliaments.  Wri- 
ters were  forbidden,  under  pain  of  death,  to  speak  of  the 
finances,  and  the  least  complaint  was  stifled  in  the  dun- 
geons of  the  Bastille.  The  people,  on  the  other  hand, 
pushed  to  the  extremity  of  misery,  conceived  the  most 
atrocious  hatred  against  the  government,  the  nobles,  and 
the  wealthy — hatred  which  was  one  day  to  turn  into 
frightful  vengeance. 

Thus  the  despotism  and  the  vices  of  the  government 
but  too  well  prepared  the  soil  for  the  reception  of  the 
seed  which  the  philosophers  were  busy  in  sowing,  and 
the  people  of  France  were  fast  approaching  that  state, 
when  to  hold  in  reverence  what  was  sanctified  by  the 
lapse  of  centuries  was  considered  narrow-minded  pre- 
judice ;  when  the  goddess  Reason ! !  became  the  only 


DEATH  OF  LOUIS  XV.  59 

deity  before  which  they  bent  their  knee  ;  when  they  en- 
tirely forgot  that  "  all  institutions  that  are  not  based  upon 
a  religious  idea  can  only  be  transient ;"  when  "  the  di- 
vine right  of  kings"  was  scoffed  at  by  every  fool,  who 
was  incapable  of  comprehending  the  deep  wisdom  em- 
bodied in  those  words  ;  when  the  laws  of  France — rthat 
which  made  France,  France — were  made  to  commit 
suicide  upon  themselves,  by  pronouncing  judgment 
ao^ainst  the  Monarch,  at  once  the  source  and  the  basis 
of  all  law  ;*  and  when  even  those  who  wished  to  prove 
that  France  must  be  monarchical,  dared  to  go  no  higher 
for  their  proof  than  to  say  that  "  France  was  geometri- 
cally monarchical." 

At  length  death  (1774)  released  France  from  the  des- 
picable king  who  had  brought  monarchy  into  contempt. 
"  But  figure  his  thoughts,  when  death  is  now  clutching 
at  his  own  heart-strings  ;  unlocked  for,  inexorable ! 
Yes,  poor  Louis  ;  Death  has  found  thee.  No  palace 
walls  or  life-guards,  gorgeous  tapestries,  or  gilt  buckram 
of  stiffest  ceremonial,  could  keep  him  out ;  but  he  is  here 
— here  at  thy  very  life-breath,  and  will  extinguish  it. 
Thou,  whose  whole  existence  hitherto  was  a  chimera 
and  scenic  show,  at  length  becomest  a  reality.  Sumptu- 
ous Versailles  bursts  asunder,  like  a  dream,  into  void 
immensity.  Time  is  done,  and  all  the  scaffolding  of 
Time  falls,  wrecked  with  hideous  clangor,  round  thy 
«oul.  The  pale  kingdoms  yawn  open  :  there  must  thou 
<5nter, — naked,  all  unkinged,  and  await  what  is  appointed 

*  The  cease  of  Majesty 

Dies  not  alone  ;  but,  like  a  gulf,  doth  draw 
What's  near  it,  with  it :  it  is  a  massy  wheel 
Fix'd  on  the  summit  of  ihe  highest  mount. 
To  those  huge  spokes  ten  thousand  lesser  things 
Are  mortised  and  adjoin'd  ;  which,  when  it  falls, 
Each  small  annexmcnt,  petty  consequence. 
Attends  the  boist'rous  ruin. — t^HAKSPEARK. 


60  DEATH  OF  LOUIS  XV. 

thee  !  Unhappy  man  ;  tliere  as  thou  tnrnest  in  dull  ago- 
ny on  thy  bed  of  weariness,  what  a  thought  is  thine  J 
Purgatory  and  hell-fire,  now  all  too  possible,  in  the  pios- 
pect :  in  the  retrospect, — alas  !  wliat  thing  didst  thou 
do,  that  were  not  better  undone, — what  mortal  didst  thou 
generously  help, — what  sorrow  hadst  thou  mercy  on "?  Do 
the  '  five  hundred  thousand'  ghosts,  who  sank  shame- 
fully on  so  many  battle-fields,  from  Rosbach  to  Quebec, 
that  thy  harlot  might  take  revenge  for  an  epigram,  crowd 
round  thee  in  this  hour  ]  Thy  foul  harem  :  the  curses  of 
mothers,  the  tears  and  infamy  of  daughters'?  Miserable 
man  !  thou  hast  done  evil  as  thou  couldst.  Thy  whole 
existence  seems  one  hideous  abortion  and  mistake  of  na- 
ture— the  use  and  meaning  of  thee  not  yet  known.  Wert 
thou  a  fabulous  griffin,  devouring  the  works  of  men, 
daily  dragging  virgins  to  thy  cave  :  clad  also  in  scales 
that  no  spear  would  pierce, — no  spear  but  death's !  A 
griffin — not  fabulous,  but  real !  Frightful,  O  Louis,  seem 
these  moments  for  thee.  We  will  pry  no  further  into 
the  horrors  of  a  sinner's  deathbed. 

"  And  yet  let  no  meanest  man  lay  flattering  unction  to 
his  soul.  Louis  was  a  ruler ;  but  art  not  thou  a  «io  one  1 
His  wide  France,  look  at  it  from  the  fixed  stars,  (them  • 
selves  not  yet  infinitude,)  is  no  wider  than  thy  narrow 
brick-field,  where  thou  too  didst  faithfully,  or  didst  un- 
faithfully. Man,  '  symbol  of  eternity,  imprisoned  into 
time  !'  it  is  not  thy  works,  which  are  all  mortal,  infinite- 
ly little,  and  the  greatest  no  greater  than  the  least,  but 
only  the  spirit  thou  workest  in,  that  can  have  worth  or 
continuance."* 

It  was  the  populace  who  had  insulted  the  remains  ot 
Louis  XIV.  ;  all  classes  of  the  nation  outraged  the  memo- 
ry of  Louis  XV.     But  the  tokens  of  contempt  and  ha 

*  Carlylc's  French.  Revolution.    Vol.  i.,  p.  25. 


LOUIS  XVI.  61 

tred  were  exhausted  in  a  few  days.  All  were  happy  to 
be  able  to  forget  a  king,  who  for  so  long  a  time  had  been 
considered  incurably  weak  and  wicked. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Accession  of  Louis  XVI. — His  Character — Maurepas — Turgot — His  pro- 
jected Reforms — Reinstatement  of  the  Parliament — Turgot's  Measures — 
His  Colleagues — Marie  Antoinette — Riots  in  Paris — Turgot's  Dismissal — 
Joseph  U. 

Louis  XVL,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne  at  the  age 
of  twenty,  had  been  brought  up  away  from  the  corrupt 
atmosphere  of  his  grandfather's  court ;  but  though  he 
had,  by  nature  and'education,  received  every  quality  that 
gives  grace  and  happiness  to  private  life,  he  was  unfor- 
tunately deficient  in  those  sterner  attributes  of  the  mind, 
and  in  that  firmness  and  decision  of  character  of  which 
no  prince  ever  stood  more  in  need.  Called  to  the  throne 
under  circumstances  of  most  peculiar  difficulty,  called, 
as  it  were,  to  stop  the  downward  course  of  a  mighty 
avalanche,  he  found  in  himself  no  other  power  than  the 
pious  prayers  and  the  benevolent  wishes  of  a  pure  and 
honest  heart.  He  was  habitually  serious,  and  embar- 
rassed in  manner,  and  wore  an  air  of  sadness,  as  if  he 
had  had  s^me  presentiment  of  his  destiny.  He  dared 
not  express  all  the  benevolence  which  was  in  his  heart. 
Because  he  was  timid  he  was  thought  to  be  suspicious. 
Though  there  was  nothing  in  him  which  denoted  Jinesse, 
he  discovered  vice  in  others  even  under  an  exterior  of 
most  bewitching  elegance.  The  court  seemed  to  be  to 
him  a  foreign  soil,  in  which  every  thing  perplexed  him. 
He  was  austere  and  simple  in  appearance,  industrious  in 
his  habits,  penetrated  with  a  high  sense  of  his  duties, 

VOL.  I.  6 


62 


MAUREPAS. 


and  full  of  excellent  intentions  ;  but  he  was  at  the  same 
time  timid  and  narrow-minded,  wanting  in  dignity  of. 
manner,  and,  more  than  all,  wanting  in  energy  and  per- 
severance. His  mind  was  not  powerful  enough  to  pene- 
trate beyond  the  vague  theories  of  the  speculators  and 
reformers  of  the  day,  and  to  find  in  the  ancient  constitu- 
tion of  the  realm  the  true  limits  to  his  own  power,  and 
the  proper  guarantees  of  the  liberty  of  his  people  ;  it 
therefore  recoiled  before  the  immense  task  which  was 
before  him,  while  his  heart  yearned  to  perform  it. 

His  first  choice  of  a  minister  was  a  most  unfortunate 
one,  and  contributed  greatly  to  stamp  the  character  of 
irresolution  upon  his  reign  ;  for  the  Comte  de  Maurepas, 
though  of  advanced  age,  and  though  disgraced  under 
Louis  XT.,  for  opposition  to  his  mistr'ess,  was,  neverthe- 
less, a  man  of  a  most  frivolous  and  unprincipled  charac- 
ter, a  courtier  rather  than  a  statesman,  and  therefore 
always  inclined  to  consider  his  master's  favor,  and  not 
the  interests  of  the  state.  With  a  master  siich  as  Louis, 
the  forijier  would  always  have  been  the  result  of  the 
latter,  had  the  power  of  his  intellect  equalled  the  purity 
of  his  intentions  ;  but,  as  it  was,  he  soon  became  con- 
fused by  the  varying  representations  of  the  conflicting 
parties,  and  contracted  the  habit  of  using  half  measures, 
of  continual  changes  of  system,  of  inconsistent  exertions 
of  power,  and  of  doing  every  thing  by  others,  and  nothing 
by  himself  It  seemed  for  a  moment,  however,  as  if  the 
state  and  the  king  were  to  be  saved  from  the  dangers 
that  threatened  them,  by  a  man  who,  to  all  the  benevo- 
lent qualities  of  Louis,  joined  that  firmness  and  perseve- 
rance in  action,  and  that  comprehensiveness  of  intellect, 
which  are  necessary  for  projecting  and  putting  into  prac- 
tice great  and  useful  reforms.  Turgot,  one  of  the  min- 
isters whom   Maurepas  had  associated  with  liimself. 


TURCOT.  63 

together  with  Miromesnil,  Saint-Germain,  Sartine,  and 
Vergennes,  was  a  man  ol  profound,  persevering,  and 
energetic  genius.  He  entertained  the  most  exalted  no- 
tions of  the  destinies  of  mankind,  and  joined- to  very 
extensive  information  and  great  practical  knowledge  of 
men  and  affairs,  a  consummate  acquaintance  with  every 
branch  of  administration.  He  had  acquired  a  high  re- 
putation by  his  writings,  and  by  the  wonders  of  adminis- 
tration which  he  had  performed  as  Intendant  of  Limoges, 
and  was  considered  by  public  opinion,  when  he  was 
called  to  the  department  of  the  finances,  as  the  only 
statesman  of  the  day.  Indeed,  if  there  had  been  in  the 
king  sufficient  energy  of  character  to  support  his  minis- 
ter, and  in  the  people  the  traditions  of  true  liberty,  to 
meet  and  to  second  his  efforts,  a  revolution  might  have 
been  effected,  which,  emanating  from  the  crown,  would 
have  re-established  its  consideration,  and  reawakened 
in  the  people  the  sense  of  veneration,  and  of  obedience 
to  established  ancient  forms,  and  spared  it  the  fearful 
career  of  madness  and  crime  which  ended  in  a  despot- 
ism greater  than  any  under  which  it  had  suffered  ;  a 
despotism  which,  in  spite  of  constitutional  forms,  still 
weighs  upon  the  unconscious  people  of  France.  For, 
though  Napoleon  fell,  his  work  lives,  and  the  iron  bonds 
of  centralization,  which  he  laid  round  France,  are  enter- 
ing into  her  soul,  unknown  to  herself,  and  destroying  the 
very  instincts  of  liberty. 

The  principal  projects  which  at  that  time  occupied  the 
minds  of  the  public  were,  unlimited  freedom  of  trade, 
gradually  introduced  ;  the  suppression  of  many  unjust 
taxes  levied  upon  necessary  articles  of  consumption  ; 
and,  above  all,  the  abolition  of  the  excise  upon  salt,  {ga- 
belle,)  of  forced  labor,  (corcces,)  and  of  feudal  services ; 
the  conversion  of  the  two-twentieths  (tax  on  revenue) 


64  turgot's  projects. 

and  the  poll-tax  into  a  territorial  impost,  to  which  both 
clergy  and  nobility  should  be  subject ;  the  equal  partitiop  . 
of  the  land-tax,  according  to  the  register  of  lands,  {ca- 
dastre ()  liberty  of  conscience;  the  recall  of  fugitive 
Protestants  ;  the  suppression  of  monasteries,  leaving  the 
existing  occupants  the  possession  for  life  ;  the  redemp- 
tion of  feudal  duties,  as  far  as  consistent  with  a  respect 
for  property;  the  abolition  of  torture,  and  a  revision  of 
the  criminal  code  ;  a  single  civil  code  in  place  of  the 
prevailing  mixture  of  common  law  {droit  coutumier)  and 
Roman  law  ;  uniformity  of  weights  and  measures  ;  the 
suppression  of  wardenships  and  privileges  of  corpora- 
tions, and  of  all  obstacles  to  the  free  exercise  of  indus- 
try ;  the  abolition  or  modification  of  every  thing  which 
produced  differences  of  interest  in  the  various  provinces 
of  the  kingdom. 

Turgot  undertook  to  satisfy  these  wants ;  and,  not- 
withstanding the  miserable  state  of  the  finances,  his 
declaration  on  accepting  office  was,  "  No  bankruptcies, 
no  augmentation  of  imposts,  no  new  loans."  But  to  put 
into  execution  so  many  innovations,  in  opposition  to  so 
many  private  interests,  a  sovereign  will  was  required, 
capable  of  crushing  all  resistance  ;  and  the  king  hesita- 
ted upon  entering  upon  this  vast  career.  His  heart 
yearned  towards  the  measures  which  were  to  ensure  the 
happiness  of  his  people,  but  his  timidity  recoiled  before 
the  difficulties  which  lay  in  the  way  of  their  execution, 
and  his  good  nature  was  averse  to  give  pain  to  a  few, 
tliough  for  the  benefit  of  the  many. 

Maurepas,  on  his  side,  was  frightened  at  projects 
which  he  did  not  comprehend ;  and  both  prepared  in 
advance  the  failure  of  the  great  minister,  by  creating  a 
centre  of  union  for  the  interested  feelings  of  those  castes 
and  individuals,  who  defended  abuses  and  resisted  inno- 


FINANCIAL    REFORMS.  65 

rations.  Looking  around  for  means  of  strength,  the 
latter  saw,  in  the  reinstatement  of  the  parliaments, 
a  hope  of  the  maintenance  of  their  privileges ;  and 
Maurepas  being  gained  over  to  their  plans,  which  co- 
incided perfectly  with  his  own  desire  of  curbing  the 
growing  power  of  the  minister  of  finance,  the  king  was 
importuned  with  prayers  and  advice  to  adopt  this  meas- 
ure. In  vain  did  Turgot  urge  that  the  proposed  system 
of  local  administraticn  and  municipal  courts  offered  much 
greater  and  surer  guarantees  to  the  people  against  the 
despotism  that  they  so  much  feared,  and  that  the  parlia- 
ment, regarding  its  reinstatement  as  a  sign  of  its  own 
strength,  and  not  as  a  boon  of  the  sovereign,  would  but 
be  the  more  presumptuous  and  the  more  to  be  feared, 
because  of  its  long  disgrace.  Maurepas,  on  his  side, 
insisted  on  the  necessity  of  this  measure,  to  counter- 
balance the  power  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  philosophers  ; 
and  the  king  at  last  yielded,  thinking  that  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  this  ancient  institution  could  but  tend  to 
strengthen  the  social  order.  But  institutions  lose  their 
value  when  men  lose  the  thoughts  which  have  given 
rise  to  them,  and  the  parliament  of  Paris,  which  had  for 
years  only  been  the  mouthpiece  of  a  faction,  had  not 
imbibed  a  new  spirit  during  the  time  of  its  disgrace,  and, 
instead  of  becoming  the  true  defender  of  liberty,  by 
promoting  wholesome  reforms,  but  at  the  same  time 
stemming  the  torrent  of  innovations  which  threatened  to 
become  too  violent,  it  took  the  character  of  an  adversary 
of  royalty  and  a  defender  of  all  other  privileges,  thus  pre- 
venting reform  from  emanating  from  its  proper  source, 
and  forcing  the  people  to  take  it  into  their  own  hands. 

Turgot,  on  entering  the  ministry,  found  the  financea 
embarrassed  by  a  deficit  of  twenty-tvvo  millions  of  francs, 
(880,OOOZ.,)  and  the  revenue  of  the  coming  years  an- 

6* 


66  RIGHTS    OF    INDUSTRY. 

ticipated  to  the  amount  of  seventy-eight  millions, 
(3,120,000/.)  In  two  years  he  paid  off  twenty-four  mil- 
lions (960,000/.)  of  the  debt  in  arrears,  made  up  twenty- 
eight  millions  (1,120,000/.)  of  the  anticipated  revenue,  and 
reimbursed  fifty  millions  (2,000  000/.)  of /a  debte  consli- 
tuee.  He  created  a  caisse  crcsconiples,  the  origin  of  the 
bank  of  France,  which  was  the  first  establishment  of  the 
kind  attempted  since  tiie  time  of  Law,  and  abolished  a 
number  of  restrictions  that  weighed  upon  industry  and 
agriculture.  But  with  these  he  perhaps  abolished  many 
an  ancient  regulation,  which,  being  in  contradiction  with 
surrounding  circumstances,  seemed  w-orse  than  worth- 
less in  the  eyes  of  those  who  looked  no  deeper  than  the 
surface,  but  which  were  links  of  a  chain  which,  though 
broken,  might  have  been  mended,  and  would  have  formed 
that  bond  between  the  past  and  the  future  which  ought 
never  to  be  dissevered. 

But  Turgot,  with  all  his  virtues,  was  still  a  man  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  and  with  him,  therefore,  reform 
and  innovation  were  synonymous. 

With  regard  to  agriculture,  Turgot  agreed  with  Sully, 
and  was  wont  to  say,  "that  the  husbandman  and  the 
shepherd  were  the  true  purveyors  of  the  state."  With 
regard  to  industry,  his  views  were  much  more  elevated 
and  extended  than  those  of  Colbert,  and  he  proclaimed 
that  "  the  right  to  work  is  the  first  property  which  man 
possesses,  and  is  the  most  sacred  and  the  most  impre- 
scriptible." In  order  to  relieve  these  two  great  sources 
of  prosperity  from  the  obstacles  that  impeded  their  full 
development,  three  great  innovations  were  requisite  ; 
these  were,  the  abolition  of  the  restrictions  upon  the 
corn  trade,  the  suppression  of  wardenships  and  privi- 
leges of  corporations,  and  the  imposition  of  a  land-tax  to 
be  equal  for  all ;  upon  these  rocks  his  power  was  split. 


MARIE    ANTOINETTE.  67 

Maurepas  was  jealous  of  the  favor  with  which  Turgot 
was  regarded  by  the  king ;  the  court  was  alarmed  at 
the  system  of  economy  proposed  by  the  minister,  and 
the  nobility  saw  that  the  course  followed  by  the  govern- 
ment was  most  threatening  to  their  privileges ;  for  the 
colleagues  of  Turgot  had  followed  his  example,  and 
?ach,  in  his  department,  sought  to  introduce  reforms. 
Thus  Saint  Germain  attacked  the  nobility  in  their  mili- 
ary honors,  and  suppressed  several  corps  of  the  king's 
household  troops.  Sartine  had  succeeded  in  suppressing 
some  of  the  pretensions  of  the  royal  navy,  most  insult- 
mg  to  the  merchantmen  ;  and  Malesherbes,  a  friend  of 
Turgot's,  who  had  been  admitted  to  the  royal  council  as 
minister  of  the  household,  reformed  the  odious  system 
of  letires  de  cachet*  proposed  the  suppression  of  the  cen- 
sorship, and  wished  to  re-establish  the  edict  of  Nantes. 

The  orders  of  the  state  threatened  by  these  innova- 
tions, entered  into  a  conspiracy  against  Turgot,  which 
was  the  more  formidable  from  their  having  induced  the 
queen  to  take  part  in  it,  who,  though  she  loved  her  hus- 


*  So  called,  because  these  were  folded  and  sealed  letters,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  "  Letters  Patent,"  wliicli  were  open.  They  were  employed  on 
various  occasions,  on  which  the  king's  personal  and  royal  authority  was 
to  be  exercised.  Sometimes  on  most  unimportant  matters  ;  hut  the  use  of 
them  which  is  best  known,  was  to  order  the  banishment  or  imprisonment 
of  any  person  who  had  not  been  proceeded  against  in  any  course  of  law. 
Tliis  unlimited  power  of  imprisonment  was  a  most  fearful  engine  of  despot- 
ism. It  is  supposed  to  have  been  coeval  with  the  earliest  ages  of  the 
monarchy.  The  first  instance  on  record  is  said  to  be  that  of  Ciueen  Brune- 
hault,  who  in  this  manner  banished  St.  Columban,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
seventh  century.  The  arbitrary  power  thus  vested  in  monarchy  was  sub- 
ject to  no  '■ontrol  whatever,  and  exercised  without  any  responsibility, 
limited  only  by  the  caprice,  or  the  fears,  or  the  virtue,  of  the  reigning  king. 
The  following  is  the  form  of  a  lettre  de  cachet : 

"  M. .     I  write  you  this  letter  to  acquaint  you  that  it  is  my  pleasure 

that  you  convey  the  body  of to  the  prison  of within  

hours.  Herein  fail  not.  Whereupon  I  pray  God  to  have  you  in  his  holy 
ond  worthy  keeping." 

This  was  signed  by  the  king,  and  countersigned  by  a  secretary  of  state. 


68  MARIE    ANTOINETTE. 

band  for  his  virtues,  could  not  help  seeing  that  his  was 
a  character  more  likely  to  be  led  than  to  give  support, 
and  she  was  not  averse  to  exercising  that  ascendency 
over  him  which  he  was  so  willing  to  allow  her.  Marie 
Antoinette  was  of  a  lively  and  amiable  disposition,  but, 
though  the  ambition  of  holding,  or  at  least  of  having  the 
appearance  of  holding  the  reins  of  state,  had  been  sug- 
gested to  her  by  the  courtiers,  who  hoped  to  benefit 
themselves  by  it,  she  w^as  nowise,  either  by  education 
or  natural  capacities,  suited  for  this  task.  Her  mind  did 
not  incline  towards  the  profound  and  grave  studies  which 
are  requisite  for  the  attainment  of  the  science  of  govern- 
ment, and  the  education  she  had  received  at  her  mother's 
court  was  not  of  a  nature  to  inspire  the  serious  thoughts 
which  her  peculiar  situation  required.  To  please  the 
French  was  her  principal  study — but  to  please  them  as  a 
woman,  not  as  a  queen  ;  to  please  them  in  their  frivolity 
as  they  showed  themselves  at  her  court,  not  to  please 
them  in  that  serious  cliaracter  which  was  every  day 
more  and  more  developing  itself  without  the  precincts 
of  the  court.  From  being  amused  at  the  intrigues  going 
on  around  her,  she  soon  came  to  the  wish  of  conducting 
ihem  herself;  but  she  was  too  good,  too  credulous,  and 
of  too  lively  a  temperament  to  excel  in  an  art  which  re- 
quires profound  dissimulation,  great  perseverance,  and 
coldness  of  heart. 

As  soon  as  Turgot  became  minister  he  hastened  to 
re-establish  the  free  circulation  of  grain  between  the 
different  provinces  ;  and  while  he  endeavored  to  combat 
the  fears  of  the  people  with  regard  to  fi-eedom  in  the 
external  trade  in  corn,  he  deferred,  for  the  present, 
passing  this  latter  measure.  The  society  of  the  pacte 
de  famine,  against  whose  machinations  Turgot  had  flat- 
:.o»Ou  kiimseif  he  had  taken  efficient  means,  nevertheless 


RIOTS.  69 

produced  a  factitious  scarcity  in  order  to  counteract  his 
projects.  The  edict  was  attacked  as  if  it  had  been  the 
greatest  imprudence  to  permit  the  French  to  give  food 
to  their  fellow-countrymen.  Riots  took  place  in  Paris 
and  its  neighborhood  in  the  month  of  May,  1775,  on  ac- 
count of  the  high  price  of  corn ;  people,  paid  by  the  chief 
instigators,  pillaged  the  markets  of  the  capital,  scattered 
the  grain  and  flour  along  the  streets  and  roads,  and  threw 
them  into  the  river,  and  demolished  the  ovens  and  maga- 
zines of  the  bakers,  thus  doing  every  thing  to  produce 
the  famine  of  which  they  made  a  pretext  as  the  cause 
of  their  violence.  These  hired  brigands  went  even  so 
far  as  to  annoy  the  king  at  Versailles,  and  the  latter 
then  gave  a  striking  proof  of  the  kindness  of  his  heart 
and  the  weakness  of  his  character,  by  going  out  upon 
the  balcony  of  the  palace  to  address  the  rioters,  and 
promise  them  a  reduction  in  the  price  of  bread.  It  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  Turgot  could  obtain  his  per- 
mission to  suppress  these  robberies  by  force  ;  and  from 
that  moment  the  minister  lost  the  confidence  of  the  king. 
Those  who  conspired  against  him  now  redoubled  their 
attacks  ;  and  when  the  edict  for  the  suppression  of  the 
wardenships  was  presented  to  the  parliament,  they  re- 
fused to  enregister  it.  Nothing  daunted,  Turgot  advised 
the  king  to  hold  a  bed  of  justice,  in  which  it  was  en- 
registered  ;  but  this  was  the  last  effort  he  obtained,  for 
Louis  was  now  fast  giving  way  before  the  resistance  he 
encountered,  and  before  the  remonstrances  of  the  court 
and  the  queen,  who  upbraided  him  with  degrading  the 
royal  power  by  all  his  innovations.  Malesherbes,  irri- 
tated by  the  many  base  obstacles  which  were  placed  in 
his  way,  quitted  the  ministry  ;  but  Turgot,  more  perse- 
vering and  more  courageous,  waited  until  the  king  re- 
quested him  to  give  in  his  resignation,  in  tendering  which, 


70  JOSEPH    II. 

he  said  to  the  weak  monarch  :  "  The  destiny  of  princes 
who  are  led  by  their  courtiers  is  that  of  Charles  I." 

An  event  apparently  insignificant,  which  took  place 
at  this  time,  contributed  considerably  to  increase,  or  ra- 
ther gave  an  opportunity  to  vent  the  growing  unpopularity 
of  the  queen  and  the  court.  This  was  the  visit  of  the 
queen's  brother,  Joseph  II.,  emperor  of  Austria,  who 
travelled  under  the  simple  title  of  the  Count  Falkensteiu, 
and  won  the  hearts  of  the  people  intent  upon  equality 
and  economy,  by  the  affability  of  his  manners  and  the 
simplicity  of  his  entourage,  which  served  to  heighten  by 
contrast  the  profusion  and  luxury  of  the  French  court, 
and  to  render  it  more  odious  in  the  eyes  of  the  people. 
The  king's  next  brother,  afterwards  Louis  XVIII.,  had 
just  returned  from  a  very  expensive  journey  in  the 
southern  provinces  of  France,  and  the  Comte  d'Artois 
proposed  to  follow  his  example.  It  is  said  that  the  king, 
wishing  to  give  his  young  brother  a  lesson,  expressed 
in  his  presence,  to  the  Count  of  Falkenstein,  his  surprise 
at  seeing  him  travel  with  so  small  a  retinue.  "  I  have 
often  travelled  with  a  much  smaller  one,"  replied  the 
son  of  Maria  Theresa ;  and  the  king,  pointing  to  the 
Comte  d'Artois,  said,  "  And  there  is  a  young  gentleman 
who  demands  one  hundred  and  fifty  horses  for  a  journey 
to  Breste."  But  the  Comte  d'Artois  nevertheless  ob- 
tained what  he  asked  for. 


NECKER.  71 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Necker — War  between  England  and  her  American  Colonies — Franklin — En- 
thusiasm in  his  favor — War — Compte  rendu  of  NecUer — His  resignation 
— Calonne — Growing  hatred  of  the  People  to  the  Court  and  the  Uuten — 
Prodigality  of  the  Court — The  Diamond  Necklace — Convocation  oftlie 
Notables — Ruinous  state  of  the  Finances — Dismissal  of  (Calonne — Bri- 
enne — Contentions  in  the  Parliament — Which  is  exiled  to  Troj-cs — Recall- 
ed— Duke  of  Orleans — Struggles  between  the  Government  and  the  Par- 
liament— Convocation  of  the  States-General. 

The  murmurs  which  were  raised  at  the  dismissal  of 
Turgot,  would  probably  have  ended  in  some  violent  de- 
monstration, had  he  not  been  almost  immediately  suc- 
ceeded by  a  man  who  possessed  the  confidence  of"  the 
public,  and  had  not  the  minds  of  the  people  been  divert- 
ed by  the  approach  of  a  war  which  was  called  for  by 
public  opinion.  Turgot  was  succeeded  by  Clugny, 
whose  short  ministry  was  signalized  by  the  introduction 
of  lotteries  and  by  ttje  re-establishment  of  corvees  and 
maitrises  in  1766.  He  was  in  his  turn  succeeded  by 
Necker,  a  Genevese  banker  established  in  France,  who 
had  rapidly  accumulated  great  wealth,  and  who,  an  adept 
in  the  art  of  gaining  favor  from  all  men,  was  generally 
designated  as  the  only  man  who  could  restore  the  finan- 
ces ;  but  during  his  ministerial  career  he  proved  himself 
more  capable  of  devising  palliatives,  than  of  inventing 
radical  cures,  and  as  long  as  he  restricted  himself  to  the 
former,  he  met  with  less  resistance  than  his  more  inflexi- 
ble predecessor. 

The  war  between  England  and  her  American  colonies 
had  broken  out ;  the  latter  had  declared  their  independ- 
ence. These  events  produced  a  great  fermentation  in 
Europe,  but  nowhere  more  than  in  France,  whose  phi- 
losophers saw  in  the  legislators  of  America  their  own 
disciples ;  and  enthusiasm  was  at  its  height,  when  Frank- 
lin, already  celebrated  for  his  invention  of  the  liglitning- 


72  WAR. 

rod,  arrived  in  Paris  in  1777  to  solicit  succors  for  the 
new  republic.  The  man  "who  had  snatched  the  thun- 
ders from  heaven,  and  the  sceptre  from  the  hands  of  ty- 
rants," was  flattered  and  sought  by  the  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen of  the  court  as  well  as  by  the  philosophers,*  and 
before  the  second  year  of  his  mission  had  elapsed,  il 
was  considered  impossible  to  deny  a  fleet  and  an  army 
to  the  countrymen  of  Franklin.  War  was  clamored  for 
on  all  sides ;  the  people  demanded  it  from  sympathy 
with  the  democrats,  the  nobles  from  a  desire  to  weaker 
England  and  to  wash  out  the  disgrace  of  the  seven  years' 
war  ;  the  mercantile  class  hoped  that  it  would  open  to 
them  immense  markets,  and  the  statesmen  thought  it  a 
good  opportunity  for  the  crown  to  regain  some  popularity. 
All  were  disappointed  save  the  democrats,  who  subse- 
quently found  a  new  and  powerful  ally  in  the  enthusiasm 
for  liberal  institutions,  brought  home  by  the  young 
French  officers  who  served  as  volunteers  in  the  Ameri- 
can war,  and  who  never  paused  to  consider  whether  the 
seed  that  sprouted  so  vigorously  in  the  virgin  soil  of 
America  would  not  have  to  be  deluged  in  blood  before 
it  could  germinate  in  the  exhausted  soil  of  France. 

Though  the  war  had  not  realized  the  expectations  to 
which  it  had  given  rise,  and  least  of  all  the  financial 
benefits  which  Necker  had  hoped  to  derive  from  it,  this 
minister  had  lost  none  of  his  influence  over  the  king  ;  but 
his  restless  vanity,  not  content  with  this  advantage,  was 
ever  seeking  the  applause  of  the  multitude,  and  he  now 
proposed  a  plan  which,  of  all  the  innovations  as  yet  pro- 
jected, approached  the  nearest  to  democratic  forms,  and 
was  most  calculated  to  whet  the  appetite  for  inquiry  into 

*  A  good  distinction  has  been  made  by  some  English  historians,  in  desig 
nating  those  so-calie d  philosophers,  and  separating  them  as  a  class  by  adopt 
ing  in  English  the  terms  Philosophes  and  Philosophism  when  speakins  ol 
them  and  theii  doctrines. 


\  COMPTE  RENDU.  7Z 

the  government  of  the  state,  which  was  daily  growing 
keener.  This  was  the  publication  of  his  Compte  rendu, 
i.  e.,  the  exposition  of  the  administration  of  the  finances 
.  during  his  ministry,  a  measure  which  he  pretended  was 
indispensable  for  the  establishment  of  public  credit, 
which  was  according  to  him  the  true  secret  of  the  finan- 
cial prosperity  of  England.  In  this  exposition,  publish- 
ed in  1781,  and  which  for  the  first  time  initiated  the  na- 
tion into  the  so  long  guarded  mystery  of  the  receipts  and 
expenditure  of  the  state,  he  pointed  out  every  fault 
committed  by  his  predecessors,  and  proudly  indicated 
himself  as  the  sole  corrector  of  these  faults  ;  but  in  spite 
of  all  his  demonstrations  to  prove  that  he  had  remedied 
all  evils,  and  that  the  revenue  now  exceeded  the  expen- 
diture by  ten  millions,  the  truth  of  this  statement  did  not 
seem  very  clear  to  others,  and  he  himself  soon  after 
contradicted  it  when  he  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to 
Turgot's  project  of  abolishing  all  immunities  in  matters 
of  imposts.  When  this  measure  was  proposed  it  no 
longer  remained  a  secret,  that  not  only  was  the  deficit 
not  covered,  but  that  it  amounted  to  forty-six  millions. 

By  adopting  Turgot's  measures  Necker  also  called  to 
life  the  enmities  and  the  perfidious  intrigues  which  caus- 
ed the  fall  of  that  minister.  The  court  was  indignant  at 
the  democratic  innovations  of  the  Comple  rendu;  which 
was  represented  as  a  degradation  of  the  royalty  of  France 
to  a  level  with  the  royalty  of  England,  and  taught  the 
queen  to  blush  at  what  was  termed  the  roturier  tenden- 
cies of  her  royal  consort.  Necker,  attacked  on  all  sides, 
and  but  feebly  supported  by  the  king,  who  was  intimida- 
ted by  the  clamors  of  the  courtiers,  tendered  his  resig- 
nation, (1781,)  and  the  murmurs  were  then  transferred 
from  the  court  to  the  public. 

At  the  death  of  Maurepas,  which  soon  followed,  the 

VOL.  I.  7 


74  CALONNE. 

place  of  prime  minister  was  left  vacant,  but  the  power 
of  the  functionary  was  entirely  vested  in  the  hands  of 
the  queen,  who  henceforward  became  the  sole  adviser 
of  the  king,  and  used  her  influence  to  promote  to  office 
the  chosen  men  of  the  court,  entirely  regardless  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  that  giant  which  was  daily  growing  in  strength, 
and  not  only  growing  in  strength  but  growing  in  hatred 
to  her  world — the  court — and  to  her  who  was  its  life  and 
soul ;  and  stamped  it  with  the  character  of  light-hearted 
prodigality,  that  aroused  the  indignation  of  its  adversary. 
Joly  de  Fleury,  who  succeeded  Necker,  added  three 
hundred  millions  to  the  debts  of  the  state,  and  though 
D'Ormesson,  the  next  in  succession,  endeavored  to  in- 
troduce some  economical  measures,  they  were  very  in- 
efficient, and  when  a  court  intrigue  had  supplanted  him 
by  Calonne,  (1783,)  a  clever  and  audacious,  but  frivolous, 
dishonest,  and  despised  magistrate,  profusion  again  be- 
came the  order  of  the  day.  Calonne,  who  owed  his  new 
post  particularly  to  the  Comte  d'Artois,  the  protector  of 
all  the  licentious  and  vicious  nobles  who  so  obstinately 
resisted  all  reforms,  was  adored  by  the  court  and  by  the 
queen,  whose  expensive  tastes  he  not  only  did  not  re- 
strict, but  encouraged.*  The  poor  king  listened  with  the 
same  confiding  simplicity  that  he  vouchsafed  to  all  who 
approached  him,  to  the  flattering  tales  of  this  audacious 
deceiver,  who  spoke  of  prosperity  and  plenty  in  the 
midst  of  difficulties  and  want ;  and  he  enjoyed  a  period 
of  calm  in  contemplation  of  the  happiness  that  was  pre- 
paring for  his  people.  So  great  indeed  was  Calome's 
art,  and  so  sincere  did  he  seem  in  his  belief  in  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  expedients  he  proposed,  that  even  the  capi- 

•  Calonne  is  said  to  have  answered  the  queen,  who  exprepfed  a  wish  but 
at  the  same  time  a  fear  that  it  was  a  matter  of  ilifiiculty  :  "  Madam,  if  it  U 
but  difficult  it  is  done,  if  it  is  impossible  it  shall  be  done." 


PRODIGALITY    OF    THE    COURT.  75 

talists  were  beguiled,  and  he  continued  for  three  years 
making  loans,  anticipating  the  revenue,  issuing  money 
edicts,  {edits  bursaux,)  and  imposing  additional  taxes 
with  a  facility  which  none  of  his  predecessors  had  ex- 
perienced. 

In  the  mean  while  the  people,  or  rather  their  leaders — 
I'or  when  do  masses  ever  act  otherwise  thar.  in  following 
the  impulses  given  them  by  those,  who,  while  pretending 
to  serve  them,  command  them"! — the  leaders  were  prepar- 
ing to  pass  from  theory  to  practice,  and  the  sentimental 
love  of  humanity,  the  rights  of  man,  and  the  justice  of 
equality,  which  were  heard  in  enthusiastic  expressions 
from  all  lips,  were  strange  precursors  of  the  l)loody 
scenes  which  were  to  ensue,  when  the  intellectual  off- 
spring of  the  eighteenth  century  was  to  preside  over 
/he  destinies  of  France.  However,  this  people  in  their 
love  for  all  mankind  did  not  incUide  the  court,  and  still 
less  the  young  queen,  who  was  persecuted  for  the  faults 
of  liveliness  and  thoughtlessness,  with  a  rancor  and 
hatred  with  which  that  same  people  had  not  visited  even 
the  dark  sins  of  Louis  XV.  and  his  mistresses. 

They  saw  but  the  profuse  magnificence  of  the  king's 
and  the  princes'  households,  greater  even  than  that  of 
the  superb  Louis  XIV.,  carried  on  at  the  expense  of 
eighty-six  millions  per  annum,  besides  eighteen  millions 
paid  out  in  pensions.  They  saw  the  enormous  debts  of 
the  Comte  d'Artois,  payments  of  which  were  constantly 
being  made  from  the  public  purse,  the  destructively 
luxurious  tastes  of  the  queen,  which  had  to  be  gratified, 
and  the  costly  presents  which  were  lavished  on  the  cour- 
tiers— while  they,  the  people,  were  suffering  every  kind 
of  privation  ;  and  the  time  was  gone  by,  when  they  had 
regarded  even  the  brilliant  faults  of  the  court  with  a 
kind  of  stupid  admiration.     It  was  shown  at  a  later  date. 


76  THE    DIAMOND    NECKLACE. 

that  the  demands  for  ready  money  {ordonnances  du  comp' 
tani)  amounted  in  eiglit  years  to  eight  hundred  and  six- 
ty-one millions,  (34,440,000/.) 

The  king  did  not  personally  participate  in  these  prodi- 
galities ;  as  simple  in  tastes  as  he  was  austere  in  morals, 
he  was  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  that  merely  regarded 
himself;  but  he  allowed  full  scope  to  the  queen  and  the 
courtiers,  and  as  a  reward  for  his  weakness,  he  did  not 
enjoy  authority  even  in  his  own  court,  or  respect  in  his 
own  family.  The  nobles,  persuaded  that  they  needed 
but  a  superb  and  majestic  king  like  Louis  XIV.  to  pre- 
vent a  revolution,  were  displeased  at  the  undignified 
manners  and  the  vulgar  tastes  of  Louis  XVL  The 
queen,  kind  and  benevolent,  but  enamored  of  pleasures 
and  fetes,  wished  to  please  everybody,  and  to  see  noth- 
ing but  smiles  around  her,  and  allowed  herself  to  be 
persuaded  that  it  was  incumbent  upon  her  to  govern  her 
husband  in  his  weakness.  Eager  to  be  adored,  rather 
than  to  be  respected,  she  compromised  her  dignity  by 
a  giddiness  of  conduct  which  gave  rise  to  the  most  in- 
jurious reports.  The  most  atrocious  pamphlets  and  the 
most  disgusting  songs  were  written  about  her.  She 
was  insulted  in  her  honor  as  a  wife,  and  attacked  in  her 
friendship  for  the  Duchess  of  Polignac  and  the  Comte 
d'Artois,  and  lastly  the  abominable  affair  of  the  diamond 
necklace  proved  sufficiently  what  were  the  feelings  of 
the  public  for  the  royal  house.  In  this  infamous  plot  the 
Queen  of  France  was  accused  of  having  sold  her  honor 
to  a  reverend  prelate  of  the  church,  the  Cardinal  de  Ro- 
han, for  an  ornament  of  immense  value,  and  her  name 
was  coupled  with  that  of  a  common  prostitute.  There 
is  not  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  innocence  of  Marie  An- 
toinette, yet  such  was  public  opinion  with  regard  to  her, 
that  the  parliament  acquitted  the  Cardinal  de  Rohan,  and 


CONVOCATION  OF  THE  NOTABLES.         77 

there  was  not  a  voice  raised  among  the  people  in  favor 
of  the  outraged  honor  of  the  royal  family. 

Three  years  had  elapsed  since  Calonne's  accession  to 
office,  and  the  time  was  at  last  come  when  he  found 
himself  bankrupt  in  expedients  and  deceptions  ;  when 
he  was  obliged  to  confess  to  the  king  that  the  debt  had 
increased  eight  hundred  millions,  (32,000,000^.  ;)  when 
even  he,  the  flatterer  of  all  parties,  could  devise  no  other 
means  o^  safety  than  the  plan  of  the  virtuous  Turgot, 
with  one  blow  to  destroy  all  privileges.  But,  depending 
upon  his  own  talents  of  persuasion  to  cajole  the  privi- 
leged classes  into  those  concessions  which  his  more 
straight-forward  predecessors  had  failed  to  obtain,  he 
advised  the  king  to  convoke  an  assembly  of  the  Notables, 
(all  the  classes  in  the  state  enjoying  the  immunities  of  no- 
bility.) This  assembly  was  opened  on  the  22d  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1787,  and  Calonne,  in  a  very  clever  speech,  announ- 
ced that  the  deficit  which  had  not  been  covered  by  Necker, 
and  had  gone  on  increasing  ever  since,  now  amounted  to 
one  hundred  and  twelve  millions,  (4,480,000/.,)  and  that 
this  state  of  the  finances  could  only  be  remedied  by  radi- 
cal changes  in  the  administration.  He  submitted,  there- 
fore, to  the  consideration  of  the  assembly,  a  proposal  for 
the  suppression  oi  corvees,  the  abolition  of  the  system  of 
farming  the  finances,  to  be  replaced  by  provincial  assem- 
blies, charged  with  the  assessment  of  the  taxes,  and  a 
land-tax  denominated  subvention  territoriale,  without 
distinction  of  privileges,  to  be  sub,stituted  for  the  two- 
twentieths  on  income.  Besides  these,  many  other  of 
Turgot's  measures,  such  as  free  trade  in  corn,  suppres- 
sion of  internal  custom-duties,  &c.,  were  submitted  tc 
the  assembly,  and  the  audacious  minister  who  dared  to 
propose  them,  was  looked  upon  by  those  whom  he  had 

flattered  and  fawned  upon  in  vain,  as  a  base  traitor,  who 

'J* 


78  THE    NEW    MINISTER. 

was  trying  to  save  himself  at  their  expense  ;  while  the 
people,  who  would  have  received  them  with  enthusiasm 
if  they  had  been  proposed  by  Turgot,  regarded  them 
with  suspicion,  as  coming  from  so  impure  a  source. 

It  was  generally  reported  that  the  deficit  amounted 
to  one  hundred  and  forty  millions,  (5,600,000/.,)  instead 
of  one  hundred  and  twelve  millions  (4,480,000/.)  as 
stated  by  the  minister,  and  that  all  the  difficulties  were 
owing  to  the  frauds  and  deceptions  he  had  practised. 
The  Notables  gave  the  king  to  understand  that  the  re- 
forms would  be  acceded  to  if  proposed  by  another,  and 
the  Comte  d'Artois  having  abandoned  liis  protege,  the 
king  gave  him  his  dismissal.  He  was  replaced  by  Lo- 
menie  de  Brienne,  archbishop  of  Toulouse,  an  ambitious, 
but  irresolute  and  incapable  prelate,  who  had  not  one 
quality  to  recommend  him  to  the  post  in  which  he  was 
placed,  but  who  had  obtained,  no  one  knew  why,  a  great 
reputation  for  the  manner  in  which  he  conducted  the  ad- 
ministration of  his  see. 

The  Notables,  bound  by  the  promise  they  had  made 
previous  to  Calonne's  dismissal,  now  consented  to  all 
the  proposed  reforms  with  seeming  alacrity  and  good- 
Tvill,  but  secretly  relying  upon  the  opposition  which  the 
new  measures  would  encounter  in  the  parliament.  They 
were  not  disappointed,  for  Brienne,  instead  of  availing 
himself  of  the  propitious  moment,  and  presenting  all  the 
new  ordinances  at  once  to  be  enregistered,  let  time 
elapse,  then  presented  them  one  after  another,  and  thus 
allowed  tlie  parliament  to  concert  its  plan  of  resistance. 
The  ordinances  concerning  the  corn  trade,  the  corvees, 
and  the  provincial  assemblies,  passed  without  difficulty  ; 
but  when  the  subvention  territoriale,  that  great  bugbear 
of  the  privileged  classes,  was  presented,  (June,  1787,)  in 
company  with  an  edict  upon  stamp  duties,  which  was 


OPPOSING    PARTIES.  79 

even  feared  by  the  people,  the  parliament,  cloaking  the 
interestedness  of  its  opposition  to  the  one,  under  the 
popularity  of  its  resistance  to  the  other,  resounded  with 
violent  declamations  against  the  minister  and  the  court, 
whose  prodigality,  it  maintained,  was  the  cause  of  all  the 
difficulties. 

The  opposition  was  conducted  by  two  men  of  opposite 
characters  :  the  one,  D'Espremenil,  was  a  most  violent 
declaimer,  and  nothing  more  than  a  supporter  of  privi- 
leges ;  the  other,  Duport,  was  of  a  calm  and  energetic 
mind,  whose  views  extended  much  further  than  the  tri- 
umph of  the  parliamentary  aristocracy.  The  opposition 
of  the  parliament,  though  directed  against  measures  of 
reform,  was  nevertheless  popular ;  first,  because  these 
measures  were  considered  inefficient,  and  secondly,  be- 
cause the  people  being  accustomed  to  see  in  the  parlia- 
ment the  defender  of  public  liberties,  took  it  for  granted 
that  it  was  still  so,  because  it  opposed  the  court ;  this 
popular  approbation  of  parliament,  acting  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  its  interests,  proves  not  only  the  growth  of  the 
revolutionary  spirit,  but  its  blindness. 

In  the  heat  of  one  of  the  parliamentary  debates,  the 
word  Slates-General  was  accidentally  pronounced,  and 
from  that  moment  it  became  the  watchword  of  all  parties. 
It  seemed  as  if  it  had  at  once  defined  the  vague  ideas 
that  were  floating  in  all  minds,  and  interests  the  most 
opposed  saw  in  it  a  hope  of  rescue.  Every  order  of  the 
state  had  proved  itself  degenerate  and  corrupt,  yet  from 
the  assemblage  of  this  corruption  it  was  thought  new 
buds  of  hope  would  spring  for  France.  The  parliament 
was  the  first  to  avail  itself  of  the  idea  suggested  by  the 
term  States-General,  and  supported  its  refusal  to  enre- 
gister  the  new  ordinances,  by  declaring  its  incompetency 
to  impose  new  taxes,  a  right  which  was  vested  in  the 


80  COMPROMISE    OF    THE    PARLIAMENT. 

States-General  alone.  This  was  tantamount  to  declaring, 
that  for  centuries  the. king  and  the  parliament  had  been 
usurpers  of  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  was  an  adver- 
tisement to  the  latter  to  reclaim  their  rights. 

The  court  was  greatly  alarmed  by  this  declaration, 
and  the  king  held  a  bed  of  justice,  to  force  the  parlia- 
ment to  enregister  the  two  new  taxes.  The  next  day 
the  parliament  declared  its  forced  compliance  invalid,  and 
was  in  consequence  exiled  to  Troyes.  At  the  same 
time  the  Comte  de  Provence,  the  king's  eldest  brother, 
was  sent  to  the  coiir  des  comptes  to  have  the  edicts  en- 
registered,  and  the  popular  approbation  of  this  prince, 
who  was  supposed  to  be  favorably  inclined  for  reforms, 
was  expressed  on  this  occasion  in  the  streets  of  Paris, 
by  a  shower  of  flowers,  and  bursts  of  applause,  while  the 
hatred  entertained  for  the  Comte  d'Artois,  sent  on  a 
similar  mission  to  the  cour  des  aides,  broke  out  in  vio- 
lent aggression,  and  he  was  with  difficulty  rescued  from 
the  enraged  mob.  Following  the  example  of  the 
parliament,  the  two  courts  declared  themselves  under 
constraint  while  enregistering  the  edicts,  and  all  the 
provincial  parliaments  followed  the  same  course. 

The  interested  motives  of  the  parliament,  which  it 
sought  to  deck  with  a  semblance  of  deference  for  the 
rights  of  the  people,  were  not  long  in  appearing,  for  it 
soon  entered  into  a  compromise  with  Brienne,  and  upon 
condition  of  his  withdrawing  the  edicts  most  opposed  to 
its  class-interests,  consented  to  enregister  the  others ;  but 
at  the  same  time  the  minister  promised  that  the  States- 
General  should  be  convoked  at  the  end  of  five  years. 

The  parliament  returned  to  Paris  on  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  on  the  20th  a  royal  sitting  took  place,  in 
which  Brienne  presented  two  edicts,  the  one  relative  to 
the  creation  of  successive  loans,  amounting  to  four  hun- 


GOVERNMENT    PROJECTS.  61 

dred  and  twenty  millions,  (16,800,000/.,)  the  other 
restoring  the  civil  rights  of  the  Protestants,  a  tardy 
reparation  of  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  ob- 
tained by  Malesherbes. 

The  discussions  became  very  violent,  and  as  the  na- 
ture of  the  sitting  (whether  it  was  a  bed  of  justice  or 
merely  a  royal  sitting)  had  been  left  undetermined,  at 
the  moment  that  the  president  proceeded  to  count  the 
votes,  the  Duke  of  Orleans  rose,  with  marks  of  violent 
gitation  in  his  countenance,  and  addressing  himself  to 
the  king,  demanded  if  this  assembly  was  a  bed  of  jus- 
tice or  a  free  consultation  ■?  The  king  replied  that  it 
was  a  royal  sitting  ;  but  when  the  counsellors,  Fretean, 
Sabatier,  and  D'Espremenil,  had  risen  and  declaimed 
with  their  usual  violence,  the  king,  on  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  transformed  the  sitting  into  a  bed  of  justice, 
and  forced  the  recording  of  the  edicts. 

This  act  was,  however,  immediately  on  the  king's 
leaving  the  assembly,  declared  null  and  void,  but  the 
next  day  the  two  counsellors,  Freteau  and  Sabatier, 
were  banished  to  the  isles  of  Hieres,  and  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  to  his  estate  of  Villers-Coterets. 

This  duke  was  the  great-grandson  of  the  regent,  a 
prince  of  profligate  morals  and  weak  intellect — a  de- 
clared enemy  of  the  queen — and  hated  and  calumniated 
by  the  court  party.  He  had,  in  consequence,  adopted 
the  popular  cause,  and  to  him  were  attributed  a  great 
many  of  the  troubles  which  agitated  France.  He  soon 
returned  from  his  exile  ;  for  his  pride  bending  before  the 
ennui  that  he  experienced,  he  condescended  to  entreat 
the  intercession  of  the  queen  in  his  favor. 

In  the  mean  while  the  parliament  made  threatening  re- 
presentations ;  Brienne  was  not  able  to  raise  the  loans ; 
the  country  was  in  a  state  of  great  fermentation,  and 


82  GOVERNMENT    PROJECTS. 

the  clamors  for  the  States-General  became  universal ; 
though  the  king  had  seemed  to  recoil  from  this  measure 
in  the  bed  of  justice  which  he  had  lately  held.  At  this 
juncture  the  government  resolved  to  make  a  bold  stroke 
to  get  rid  of  the  parliamentary  opposition,  and  to  deprive 
the  people  of  every  pretext  for  revolts,  by  taking  itself 
the  initiative  in  reform.  Measures  were  taken,  that  this 
plan  should  not  be  known  before  the  moment  of  its  exe- 
cution ;  and  sealed  orders  were  dispatched  to  all  the 
governors  of  the  provinces  to  fix  one  day  for  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  project  throughout  France,  and  to  hold 
the  army  in  readiness  to  support  the  royal  commands. 
But  D'Espremenil,  who  had,  by  surreptitious  means,  ob- 
tained possession  of  a  copy  of  the  projected  edicts, 
informed  the  parliament  in  time  of  the  thunderbolt  sus- 
pended over  its  head.  This  assembly,  thrown  into  the 
greatest  consternation  by  the  announcement  of  a  plan 
which  considerably  reduced  its  judicial  power,  and  alto- 
gether annihilated  its  political  power,  was,  at  the  same 
time,  at  the  greatest  loss  how  to  avail  itself  of  its  timely 
knowledge  of  the  threatening  dangers  ;  for  it  could  not 
deliberate  on  a  project  which  had  not  been  laid  before  it, 
nor  could  it  passively  submit  to  such  a  blow.  In  this 
embarrassment  it  had  recourse  to  an  expedient  which, 
had  its  full  value  been  understood  by  the  nation,  and  had 
it  been  followed  by  the  other  orders  of  the  state,  might 
have  given  a  new  coloring  to  the  Revolution,  which 
might  then,  indeed,  have  been  a  bright  era  in  the  history 
of  France,  and  a  noble  example  to  the  nations  of  Europe. 
The  parliament  took  its  stand  on  the  "  old  ivays  of  the 
constitution."  It  revised  and  re-established,  by  an  ex- 
press act,  all  the  constituent  laws  of  the  monarchy,  which, 
of  course,  comprised  its  own  existence  and  rights.  By 
this  measure  the  projects  of  government  were  in  no  way 


PROPOSED    REFORMS.  83 

anticipated,  while  they  were,  at  the  same  time,  com- 
pletely thwarted. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1788,  the  parliament  of  Paris  de- 
clared : 

"  That  France  is  a  monarchy  governed  by  a  king  ac- 
cording to  the  laws,  and  that  of  these  laws,  many  which 
are  fundamental,  render  sacred  and  inviolable — 1.  The 
right  of  the  reigning  family  to  the  throne,  descending 
from  male  to  male,  by  order  of  primogeniture.  2.  The 
right  of  the  nation  freely  to  grant  subsidies  by  the  organ 
of  the  States-General,  regularly  convoked  and  composed. 
3.  The  customs  and  capitulations  of  the  provinces.  4. 
The  permanency  of  magistrates.  5.  The  right  of  courts 
to  execute  in  every  province  the  will  of  the  king,  and  to 
order  it  to  be  recorded,  provided  it  is  in  conformity  with 
the  constituent  laws  of  the  province,  and  the  funda- 
mental laws  of  the  state.  6.  The  right  of  each  citizen 
never  to  be  delivered  up  to  any  other  than  his  natural 
judges,  who  are  those  which  the  law  points  out.  7.  The 
right,  without  which  all  others  are  useless,  of  every  in- 
dividual, on  being  arrested,  to  demand  trial  without  delay. 
This  protest  is  directed  against  every  attempt  which 
may  be  made  against  the  above  principles." 

To  this  energetic  measure  the  ministry  replied  by  the 
arrest  of  D'Espremenil  and  another  counsellor,  which 
took  place  in  the  midst  of  the  assembled  parliament, 
where  they  had  sought  refuge.  The  officer  sent  to 
arrest  them,  not  knowing  them,  called  upon  them  to 
present  themselves.  This  appeal  was  at  first  received 
with  profound  silence  ;  afterwards  all  the  magistrates, 
with  one  voice,  declared  themselves  to  be  D'Esprerae- 
nils.  After  a  third  summons,  however,  the  latter  gave 
himself  into  the  custody  of  the  officer,  and  was  carried 
off  amidst  the  tumult  of  the  populace.    Three  days  after, 


84  PROPOSED    REFORMS. 

(May  8th,)  the  princes,  the  peers,  and  the  magistrates, 
were  convoked  at  Versailles,  where  the  king  held  a  bed 
of  justice,  in  which  he  explained  his  views  as  to  the 
reforms  required,  and  made  all  the  concessions  of  which 
he  was  capable.  "  There  is  not  an  extravagance,"  said 
the  king,  "  of  which  my  parliament  has  not  been  guilty 

within  the  last  year I  owe  it  to  my  subjects,  to 

myself,  and  to  my  successors,  to  arrest  them.  ...  A 
great  state  must  have  but  one  king,  one  law,  one  re- 
cording ;  its  tribunals  must  not  have  too  extended  a 
jurisdiction ;  it  must  have  parliaments  for  which  the 
most  important  causes  must  be  reserved  ;  one  sole  court 
must  be  the  depository  of  its  laws,  and  be  charged  with 
recording  them ;  and,  lastly,  the  States-General  must  be 
assembled  whenever  the  necessities  of  the  state  make  it 
urgent.  Such  is  the  restoration  which  my  love  for  my 
subjects  has  prepared  for  them."  The  chancellor  then 
read  the  ordinances  bearing  upon  the  proposed  reforms, 
and  by  which  the  chambres  des  requites  et  ties  enquetes 
(courts  of  petitions  and  of  inquiry)  were  suppressed,  and 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  parliaments  limited  by  the  crea- 
tion of  inferior  tribunals.  The  tribunaux  cf  exception 
were  abolished,  the  criminal  laws  reformed,  and  lastly  a 
cour  pleniere  (plenary  court)  was  created,  to  consist  of 
all  the  lords,  the  bishops,  the  counsellors  of  the  state, 
and  the  members  of  the  great  chamber  of  the  parliament 
of  Paris,  and  which  alone  was  to  be  charged  with  the 
recording  of  the  laws. 

But  all  these  reforms,  though  good  in  themselves,  no 
longer  satisfied  public  opinion,  which,  growing  more  in- 
ordinate in  its  desires  the  more  it  was  fed  by  royal 
concessions,  seemed  now  to  have  arrived  at  the  point 
where  excitement,  not  any  definite  object,  is  the  thing 
craved  for.     Besides,  the  States-General  were  now  up- 


OPPOSITIO^f  TO  THEM.  85 

perraost  in  all  minds,  to  them  turned  all  hopes ;  the 
reforms  were,  therefore,  received  with  universal  disap- 
probation, and  the  parliament  which,  during  the  royal 
sitting,  had,  by  deep  silence,  expressed  its  opposition, 
assembled  the  next  day  at  a  tavern  at  Versailles,  regu- 
larly to  enter  its  protest  against  the  proceedings  and  the 
proposed  measures.  Nor  were  the  provincial  parlia- 
ments more  submissive.  E.xcept  that  of  Douai,  all 
refused  to  enregister  the  royal  edict,  and  the  parliament 
of  Rhenns  even  went  so  far  as  to  declare  all  those  in- 
famous who  should  accept  a  seat  in  the  cour  fleniere. 
In  consequence,  many  of  those  whom  the  king  had  most 
relied  upon  refused  to  do  so.  In  several  of  the  provinces 
the  most  active  measures  were  taken  to  resist  the  king's 
orders ;  and  when  the  soldiers  were  called  out  to  coerce 
the  refractory  burghers,  it  was  found  that  the  troops 
were  not  more  to  be  depended  upon  than  the  citizens. 
Even  the  clergy  added  its  reprobation  to  the  universal 
discontent,  and  protested,  in  a  general  assembly,  against 
the  acts  of  the  minister,  and  demanded  the  speedy  con- 
vocation of  the  States-General.  In  fine,  to  complete 
the  general  discontent,  the  facte  de famine,  which  Neck- 
er  had  been  unable  to  dissolve,  but  which  had  been 
kept  in  restraint  by  the  character  of  the  king,  availing 
itself  of  the  edict  which  for  the  fourth  time  abolished  all 
restrictions  on  the  corn-trade,  recommenced  its  infamous 
machinations,  and  excited  the  populace  to  fury. 

Brienne  having  tried  in  vain  every  expedient  which 
had  been  suggested  to  him,  and  finding  himself  at  last 
without  the  support  of  the  ancient  institutions  of  the 
realm,  while  the  scheme  of  his  new-invented  cour  ple- 
niere  had  proved  abortive,  now  also  began  to  look  to  the 
States-General  for  relief,  and  they  were  accordingly 
convoked  for  the  5th  of  May,  1789. 

VOL.  I.  8 


86  FINANCIAL  DIFFICULTIES. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Stutes  General — Ruinous  Financial  Mfasiires  of  Brienne — His  Resig- 
nation— Neclier — His  Popularity — Discussions  on  ilie  Formalion,  &c.,  of 
the  States-General — Misery  ofthe  People — Commotions — Openins  of  tha 
States-General — Dissensions  between  tlie  T)iree  Estates — National  As- 
sembly— Royal  Sitting — General  Revolutionary  Agitation. 

As  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  had  elapsed  since 
the  assembly  of  the  States-General  had  been  held,  and 
as  there  had  been  so  little  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
this  institution,  that  no  records  were  left  as  to  its  consti- 
tutions, its  forms,  and  its  functions,  the  minister,  desir- 
ing to  make  himself  popular,  appealed  to  the  "  thinkers" 
among  the  nation  to  draw  up  memorials  upon  the  com- 
position and  the  attributes  of  the  coming  assembly,  thus 
engrafting  upon  the  name  of  a  time-honored  institution 
a  speculative  theory,  the  offspring  of  a  period  of  destruc- 
tion. But  the  5th  May  was  yet  distant,  and  the  minister 
was  without  money.  The  king's  strong-box  at  Versailles 
contained  no  more  than  two  thousand  louis  d'ors,  though 
the  Archbishop's  sacrilegious  hand  had  been  laid  even 
upon  the  money  which  the  charitable  public  of  Paris  had 
contributed  to  the  relief  of  the  poor,  who  had  suffered 
from  the  dreadful  hailstorms  that  had  lately  ravaged 
France.  New  means  must  be  devised,  and  Brienne, 
perplexed  and  powerless,  proposed  to  call  Necker  to  his 
aid  ;  but  the  latter  wisely  refused  to  associate  himself 
with  a  minister  who  had  incurred  so  much  odium.  The 
Archbishop,  left  to  his  own  resources,  issued  paper  mon- 
ey to  bear  interest,  and  to  be  redeemed  with  specie  next 
year.  He  published  a  proclamation,  (16th  August, 
1788,)  declaring  that  all  payments  at  the  royal  treasury 
should  henceforth  be  made  three-fifths  in  specie,  and 
the  rest  in  paper.  Public  indignation  was  at  its  height, 
and  the  minister,  having  ensured  to  himself  and   his 


REINSTATEMENT  OF  NECKER.  87 

family  all  the  advantages  he  could  hope  for,  thought  it 
advisable  to  resign,  strenuously  advising  the  king  to  let 
Necker  be  his  successor. 

Necker  was  reinstated  in  office  the  very  day  that 
Brienne  resigned,  and  the  people  manifested  tlieir  de- 
light at  a  change  which  they  looked  upon  as  a  triumph 
over  the  court,  by  riotous  assemblies,  in  which  the  re- 
tiring minister  w'as  burnt  in  effigy,  while  the  portrait  of 
his  successor  was  paraded  through  the  streets  stuck 
upon  a  pole.  During  three  days,  blood  flowed  in  the 
streets  of  Paris — ominous  drops  from  the  ocean  which 
was  soon  to  inundate  France. 

Intoxicated  by  the  incense  which  was  everywhere 
offered  to  him,  Necker,  on  resuming  office,  thought 
himself,  as  others  thought  him,  destined  to  be  the  saviour 
of  France  ;  but  the  endeavors  of  a  mere  financier,  were 
he  ever  so  clever,  could  no  more  suffice  to  right  the 
state  of  France  :  it  was  too  late.  Before  he  could  take 
measures  to  prevent  the  exportation  of  corn,  the  pacte 
de  famine  had  bought  up  all  the  corn,  and  produced  a 
scarcity,  the  effects  of  which  were  the  more  fearful,  on 
account  of  the  harvest  of  1788  having  been  a  very  bad 
one.  The  minister  was  obliged  to  sacrifice  forty  mil- 
lions to  stop  the  rise  in  the  price  of  corn,  and  having 
revoked  the  edicts  of  Brienne,  and  recalled  the  parlia- 
ment, he  exerted  every  means  to  carry  on  the  govern- 
ment until  the  opening  of  the  States-General.  This 
was  the  theme  of  all  conversations,  the  subject  of  every 
thought.  Newspapers  and  pamphlets  were  filled  with 
discussions  on  their  constitution  ;  and  the  philosophers, 
the  economists,  or  by  whatever  name  the  unruly  heads 
of  that  day  were  denominated,  were  in  agitation  day  and 
night,  at  the  clubs  which  had  been  formed  after  the 
fashion  of  England,  deliberating  upon  the  two  important 


88  THE   THIRD  ESTATE. 

questions  :  whether  the  third  estate  was  not  to  be  repre- 
sented by  a  greater  number  of  deputies  than  the  nobles 
or  the  cLergy,  and  whether  the  votes  were  to  be  taken 
by  order  or  by  head.  The  Abbe  Sieyes,  one  of  the 
most  enthusiastic  believers  in  the  new  creeds  of  the  phi- 
losophers of  France,  and  himself  the  founder  of  one, 
wrote  a  pamphlet,  with  the  title.  What  is  the  Thira 
Estate  ?  and  answered  his  own  query,  by  saying  it  was 
every  thing.  And  this  answer,  which  was  responded  to 
throughout  France,  may  be  said  to  contain  the  history 
of  the  coming  revolution.  It  is  the  confession  of  faith 
of  men  preparing  to  regenerate  an  ancient  monarchy, 
by  the  overthrow  of  every  thing  existing  whence  regene- 
ration might  spring — of  men  destroying  the  past,  where, 
though  buried  under  the  ashes  of  centuries  of  abuse,  still 
glimmered  the  vital  spark  that  had  given  birth  to  the 
nation,  and  lent  it  power  to  grow ;  and  then  calling  upon 
the  nation,  in  whom  they  had  destroyed  all  divine 
thoughts,  to  rear  a  fabric  of  wisdom  and  liberty,  with  the 
aid  of  the  creeds  they  had  substituted  for  all  that  until 
then  had  been  held  sacred. 

In  a  well-regulated  state,  there  is  no  one  class  to  be 

.  every  thing.  There  is  a  people  consisting  of  all  classes 
to  be  good  and  happy  ;  that  this  can  be  as  little  possible 

«(even  less)  when  the  lower  classes  are  all  powerful, 
than  when  the  upper  ones  are  so,  no  event  in  history  has 
more  clearly  proved  than  this  self-same  French  Revolu- 
tion. Undue  power  in  the  higher  classes  will  produce 
despotism  and  oppression,  but  it  will  always  maintain 
some  kind  of  government,  which  is  certainly  preferable 
to  none.  Undue  power  possessed  by  the  lower  classes 
invariably  produces  anarchy,  that  worst  of  all  despot- 
isms, because  it  is  one  from  which  they  are  not  even 
themselves  exempt. 


THE  ELECTIONS.  89 

The  people,  of  course,  raised  its  voice  to  demand  the 
double  representation  of  the  third  estate,  and  the  vote 
by  head,  maintaining  that,  in  the  contrary  case,  every 
reform  would  be  met  by  a  coalition  of  the  two  privileged 
orders :  and  the  latter  taking  the  alarm,  had  again  re- 
C'urse  to  the  support  of  the  parliament,  which,  fright- 
ened at  the  danger  it  had  itself  called  forth,  threw  off 
its  mask,  and  manifested  clearly  its  aristocratic  tend- 
encies, by  demanding  that  the  forms  of  IGl 4  should  be 
adopted.  From  this  moment  its  popularity  was  lost, 
but  the  people  did  not  profit  by  the  lesson  which  their 
misconception  of  the  character  of  the  parliament  might 
have  taught  them.  Necker,  who  was  an  admirer  of  the 
English  constitution,  and  who  flattered  himself  that  he 
should  be  able,  in  a  great  measure,  to  conduct  the  Revo- 
lution, was  determined  upon  giving  the  third  estate  a 
double  representation  ;  but  whether  it  were  in  the  hope 
of  engaging  the  privileged  classes  to  submit  to  the  re- 
forms, or  from  a  desire  to  render  them  still  more  unpop- 
ular, he  convoked  an  assembly  of  the  Notables,  to  give 
their  opinion  as  to  the  composition  of  the  States-General. 
Of  the  six  bureaus  into  which  this  assembly  was  divided, 
one  only  voted  for  the  double  representation  of  the  third 
estate ;  but  the  king,  "  in  accordance  with  the  wishes 
of  the  minority  of  the  Notables,  vj'xih.  the  demands  of  the 
provincial  assemblies,  and  with  the  advice  of  the  in- 
numerable addresses  presented  to  him  on  this  occa- 
sion," ordered  that  the  number  of  deputies  should  not 
be  less  than  one  thousand  ;  that  they  should  be  elected 
from  all  the  bailiwicks  of  the  kingdom ;  and  that  the 
number  of  the  deputies  of  the  third  class  should  be 
equal  to  that  of  the  two  first  ranks  joined  together; 
but  whether  the  votes  were  to  be  collected  individu- 
ally, or  by  order,  was  left  to  the  assembly  itself  to  de- 

8* 


90  MIRABKAU. 

termine,  and  thus  the  seeds  of  discord  were  sown  in 
advance. 

The  royal  declaration  was  received  wi4h  universal 
enthusiasm,  and  the  elections  were  immediately  com- 
menced, according  to  the  regulations  laid  down  by  the 
government.  All  Frenchmen  above  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  and  who  were  subjected  to  the  poll-tax,  elected  two 
deputies  out  of  every  hundred  inhabitants  present  at  the 
election,  to  represent  them  at  the  election  of  the  baili- 
wick :  and  these  deputies  in  their  turn  elected  delegates 
to  the  States-General.  As  for  the  cler.'ry  and  the  no- 
bility, the  individuals  possessing  benefices  or  fiefs  elected 
their  own  deputies ;  and  the  others  elected  one  manda- 
tory for  every  ten,  who  again  chose  the  deputies  for  the 
States-General. 

The  elections  were  everywhere  animated,  but  no- 
where broke  out  into  open  tumult  except  in  the  pays 
des  etats,  where  the  local  liberties  gave  a  last  sign  of 
their  existence,  and  the  provincial  assemblies  struggled 
hard  for  the  power  of  choosing  from  their  own  mem- 
bers their  deputies  for  the  Slates-General.  In  Brittany, 
where  the  nobles  most  strenuously  opposed  the  preten- 
sions of  the  tiers  ctats,  differences  between  them  and  the 
bourgeois  broke  out  into  open  violence,  and  the  whole 
province  associated  itself  with  the  neighboring  provin- 
ces against  the  "  fanatic  aristocrats."  In  Provence  the 
Comte  de  Mirabeau,  a  man  of  low  morals  but  great  in- 
tellectual ability,  having  been  repelled  by  the  nobles, 
offered  the  advantages  of  his  eloquence  to  the  tiers. 
He  was  carried  in  triumph  through  all  the  towns,  and 
became  the  leader  of  the  minority  of  the  privileged  class- 
es that  joined  cause  with  the  commons. 

In  Paris  the  elections  were  disturbed  by  a  riot  in  the 
faubourg  St.  Antoine,  got  up  by  the  workmen  in  a  pa- 


RIOTS  AND  MISERY.  91 

per  manufactory,  under  pretence  of  talcing  revenge  on 
their  master,  who  wanted  to  reduce  their  wages.  Re- 
veillon,  the  manufacturer,  was  burnt  in  effigy,  his  house 
pillaged  and  burnt,  and  so  great  was  the  resistance  when 
the  military  were  sent  out  to  coerce  the  mob,  that  no  less 
than  six  hundred  persons  were  killed  in  this  miserable  af- 
fray. Every  thing  seemed  to  conspire  to  lead  the  unhappy 
people  into  riot  and  tumult ;  their  misery  was  at  its 
height ;  commerce  and  industry  were  paralyzed  by  the 
poverty  of  the  finances  ;  the  storm  lowering  on  the  hori- 
zon made  the  capitalists  wary  ;  the  pacte  de  famine  con- 
tinued its  abominable  speculations,  and,  to  crown  all,  the 
winter  of  1789  was  as  rigorous  as  that  of  1709.  From 
all  sides  came  accounts  of  disturbances  caused  by  actual 
starvation.  The  country  resounded  with  cries  of  hatred 
and  fury  against  the  nobles  and  the  monopolizers.  The 
large  towns,  and  principally  Paris,  were  invaded  by  bands 
of  hideous,  savage-looking,  audacious  creatures,  who 
seemed  rather  to  be  inspired  by  hatred,  than  by  a  wish 
of  gain,  and  who  contaminated  the  better-intentioned 
classes  of  their  fellow-sufferers  with  their  love  of  disor- 
der and  bloodshed.  The  higher  classes  of  society,  turn- 
ing away  from  the  true  causes  of  these  fearful  and  evil- 
boding  apparitions,  because  they  were  not  inclined  to 
profit  by  the  lessons  whidi  they  held  out  to  them,  at- 
tributed them  to  all  kinds  of  extraneous  causes,  among 
which  the  gold  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  the  ministry 
of  England  were  the  most  conspicuous. 

In  the  mean  while  the  instructions  of  the  constituents 
of  the  different  orders  to  their  representatives  were 
drawn  up,  and  by  the  diversity  of  their  character  showed 
what  would  be  the  nature  of  the  coming  contest.  Un- 
doubtedly all  one's  sympathies  at  this  the  outset  of  the 
Revolution  go  witli  the  popular  party,  who,  however 


92  THE  THREE  ESTATES. 

confused  and  vague  in  their  ideas,  were  nevertheless  the 
spokesmen  of  a  suffering  and  oppressed  multitude,  and 
who  really  at  this  juncture  seemed  regenerated  by  the 
great  thoughts  that  animated  them,  while  the  nobles 
seemed  unable  to  rise  above  the  narrowest  class-interests, 
unwilling  to  make  any  the  Slightest  concessions,  and 
even  showing  themselves  hostile  to  the  clergy.  As  for 
the  latter,  the  part  they  played  seems  the  most  difficult 
to  pronounce  upon.  Every  order  in  the  state  must  of 
necessity  have  become  degenerate  before  a  nation  can 
present  such  a  spectacle  as  that  held  up  by  the  French 
during  this  revolution ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  Church,  the  institution  which  above  all  others  has 
to  watch  over  national  morals,  must  have  neglected  its 
duties,  and  itself  degraded  its  sacred  character,  before 
the  people  could  arrive  at  such  a  stage  of  corruption  as 
to  dare  to  set  at  naught  law  and  right,  and  openly  to  de- 
clare its  contempt  for  all  that  has  ever  been  held  most 
sacred  among  nations.  There  is  no  doubt  that  had  there 
been  one  order  in  France  which  had  been  content  to 
maintain  its  own  imprescriptible  rights,  and  had  had  within 
it  the  mental  strength  and  honesty  to  resist  all  encroach- 
ment, it  would  have  formed  a  moral  support  to,  and  even 
a  moral  regenerator  of  the  other  orders.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  faults  of  the  French  clergy,  however, 
they  cannot  be  blamed  for  their  resistance  to  the  tiers 
etat ;  for  being  aware  of  the  innovating  tendencies  of  the 
times,  they  must  have  felt  that  the  sacred  precincts  once 
invaded  by  the  new  apostles  of  the  "  rights  of  man,"  it 
would  be  impossible  to  stop  the  torrent,  which  in  sweep- 
ing away  the  time-honored  edifice  would  tear  asunder 
every  sacred  bond,  and  that  religion  and  morality  would 
be  buried  in  the  same  grave,  as  the  ancient  constitution 
of  the  Church  and  the  State. 


OPENING  OF  THE  STATES-GENERAL.  93 

The  period  for  the  opening  of  the  States-General  had 
arrived.  On  the  preceding  day,  the  4th  May,  the  king, 
accompanied  by  the  three  orders  and  all  the  dignitaries 
of  the  state,  went  in  solemn  procession  to  the  cathedral 
of  Notre  Dame,  where  neither  pomp  nor  magnificence 
was  spared,  to  render  imposing  a  ceremony  in  which  a 
whole  nation  assembled  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  to  offer 
up  prayers  for  its  own  safety  in  the  crisis  which  was  ap- 
proaching ;  and  notwithstanding  the  unworthy  scenes 
which  followed  this  solemn  moment,  we  can  scarcely 
doubt  the  correctness  of  the  accounts,  that  the  purest 
patriotism  on  that  day  animated  all  hearts,  and  that  for 
a  moment  all  hatreds  were  forgotten.  But,  alas  !  na- 
tions cannot  be  regenerated  by  momentary  impulses,  and 
centuries  of  sin  must  at  last  bring  their  own  punishment. 

On  the  5th  May,  1789,  the  session  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral was  opened  at  Versailles.  The  king  and  queen  took 
their  seats  on  an  elevated  throne,  the  court  in  the  gal- 
leries, while  the  two  superior  orders  were  ranged  on 
both  sides  of  the  royal  throne,  and  the  third  estate  occu- 
pied the  seats  at  the  extremity  of  the  room.  So  far, 
nothing  was  altered  in  the  ancient  etiquette  of  these  as- 
semblies ;  but  when  the  king  by  covering  his  head  gave 
the  signal  for  the  nobles  and  clergy  to  do  the  same,  it 
immediately  became  evident  that  the  humble  places  of 
the  individuals  at  the  extremity  of  the  room  were  no 
wise  in  accordance  with  the  feelings  that  animated  them  ; 
for,  contrary  to  ancient  usage,  the  tiers  ctat  followed 
the  example  of  the  privileged  classes,  and  placed  theii 
hats  on  their  heads.  The  king  pronounced  a  speech, 
which,  though  containing  expressions  of  the  most  benevo- 
lent feelings  towards  his  people,  did  not  touch  in  a  de- 
cided manner  upon  the  contemplated  reforms,  and  must 
therefore  have  been  a  great  disappointment  to  those 


94  VERIFICATION  OF  POWERS. 

who  had  gone  so  far  in  their  enthusiasm  and  hopes,  as 
to  have  dreamed  of  even  the  king's  abdicating  his  throne, 
in  order  to  receive  it  again  from  the  hands  of  the  nation. 

Necker  in  his  turn  made  a  long  and  fatiguing  speech 
on  the  state  of  the  finances,  which,  however  important 
it  might  have  been,  was  far  from  satisfactory  to  those 
who,  in  their  impatience  to  embody  their  own  wisdom 
in  the  new  constitution  they  were  planning  for  France, 
had  never  condescended  to  inquire  whether  the  liberty 
and  prosperity  of  a  people  are  not  in  as  great  a  measure 
dependent  upon  the  administrative  system  of  the  state, 
as  upon  its  constitutional  forms. 

The  next  day  each  oi'der  of  the  deputies  assembled  in 
the  separate  chambers  assigned  to  them,  there  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  verification  of  powers,  and  a  discussion  im- 
mediately arose  as  to  whether  this  was  to  be  a  general 
or  a  separate  transaction,  effected  by  each  order  inde- 
pendent of  the  others.  This  question  of  mere  form  was 
invested  with  an  undue  degree  of  importance,  because 
under  it  was  hidden  the  much  graver  one,  whether  the 
states  were  to  deliberate  and  vote  by  order  or  in  a  gen- 
eral assembly. 

The  tiers  etat,  which,  on  account  of  tlieir  numbers, 
occupied  the  chamber  appropriated  to  the  general  as- 
sembly, did  not  neglect  this  first  opportunity  of  putting 
forward  their  pretensions,  and  sent  a  deputation  to  the 
two  other  orders,  to  let  them  know  that  they  were 
awaiting  their  arrival  to  proceed  to  the  verification  of 
powers.  The  nobles  immediately  replied,  that  the  three 
orders  forming  distinct  assemblies,  they  should  of 
course  proceed  to  verify  separately  the  powers  of  their 
deputies,  and  they  acted  accordingly  ;  the  clergy,  how- 
ever, among  whom  were  comprised  a  great  number 
of  country  curates,   whose   sympathies  were  all    with 


DISCUSSIONS.  95 

the  tiers  etat,  did  ntit  give  a  decided  refusal,  but  pro- 
posed that  commissioners  should  be  appointed  to  obvi- 
ate the  difficulties.  The  proposal  was  acceded  to,  and 
the  two  first  orders  declared,  in  these  conferences,  that 
they  would  renounce  their  privileges  in  matters  of  tax- 
ation, but  that  they  would  persist  in  refusing  to  vote  by 
head.  The  tiers  accepted  the  concession,  but  on  their 
side  obstinately  refused  to  submit  to  separate  verifica- 
tions and  deliberations.  The  conferences  still  remained 
open  :  as  a  new  method  of  adjustment,  it  was  proposed 
that  the  powers  of  the  whole  states  should  be  con- 
firmed by  commissioners  elected  from  the  three  orders. 
The  nobility,  whose  resistance  was  said  to  be  insti- 
gated by  the  queen  and  the  Comte  d'Artois,  again  re- 
fused to  consent ;  and  on  the  same  day  declared,  that, 
for  the  present  session,  they  insisted  on  the  separate 
verifications,  but  that  for  the  future,  the  question  could 
be  decided  by  the  states.  This  took  place  on  the  27th 
of  May ;  thus  twenty-two  days  had  passed  in  useless 
discussion  within  the  assembly,  while,  without,  excite- 
ment was  daily  increasing.  The  Salle  des  Menus  Plai- 
sirs,  occupied  by  the  tiers,  was  daily  visited  by  crowds 
of  people,  who  mixed  among  the  deputies,  were  probably 
inspired  by  them,  and  then  disseminated  among  the 
people  the  accounts  they  had  there  received.  The  clubs, 
both  at  Paris  and  Versailles,  w-here  the  deputies  assem- 
bled in  the  evening,  became  more  and  more  animated. 
The  gardens  of  the  Palais  Royal  were  crowded  every 
night  with  people,  murmuring,  and  cursing  the  aristo- 
crats and  the  priests.  The  philosophy  of  the  Revolution, 
which  the  Abbe  Maury  (one  of  the  deputies  of  the  cler- 
gy) described  in  the  words,  "  Ote-loi  que  jc  ivby  meis^'' 
(Get  out  of  the  way  that  I  may  get  into  your  place,)  was 
beginning  to  declare  itself  openly  in  the  streets,  though 


96  GROWING    EXCITEMENT. 

in  the  chambers  of  the  States-General  it  still  retained 
its  mask  of  patriotism. 

The  time  that  had  elapsed  had  been  profitably  em- 
ployed out  of  the  chamber,  and  the  tiers  ctat  now  deter- 
mined upon  taking  more  decisive  measures  within.  On 
the  day  of  the  above-mentioned  declaration  from  the 
nobility,  Mirabeau  having  now  become  the  leader  of  the 
popular  party,  who  were  not  over-scrupulous  as  to  the 
private  character  of  the  men  they  followed,  proposed 
that  the  clergy  should  be  called  upon  for  the  last  time  to 
explain  themselves,  and  to  join  the  tiers  elat,  which  now 
chose  to  style  itself  the  Commons,  though,  as  to  the 
character,  the  position,  and  the  principles  of  the  majority 
of  its  members,  it  might  with  more  truth  have  been 
styled  the  Rabble.  A  deputation,  headed  by  Target, 
was  sent  in  consequence  to  the  clergy,  to  invite  them, 
"  in  the  name  of  the  God  of  peace,  and  the  national  in- 
terests," to  join  the  deputies  of  the  people  in  the  com- 
mon hall,  to  consult,  on  the  best  means  of  re-establishing 
that  concord  which  was  so  necessary  for  the  safety  of 
public  affairs. 

The  clergy  were  partly  inclined  to  cede,  but  at  last  it 
was  determined  to  avoid  a  decision  until  an  appeal  could 
be  made  to  the  king.  His  majesty  reopened  the  con- 
ferences by  a  plan  for  conciliation,  which  was  adopted 
by  the  clergy  but  rejected  by  the  nobles.  The  commons 
continued  studiously  to  avoid  every  step  which  could  be 
considered  as  binding  them  to  proceed  as  a  separate 
chamber,  and  acted  with  a  firmness  and  resolution, 
which  would  call  forth  all  our  admiration  had  it  been 
shown  in  a  struggle  for  legitimate,  not  for  illegitimate 
power,  and  did  the  sequel  allow  us  to  believe  that  they 
really  had  the  interests  of  the  people  as  much  at  heart, 
as  they  had  them  on  their  lips.    Still  it  is  with  diffidence 


THE  TIERS  ETAT.  97 

that  one  pronounces  upon  the  intentions  of  men,  who  had 
had  their  minds  so  confused  by  the  philosophic  tenets  of 
their  times,  who  had  been  so  bewildered  by  doctrines 
"on  the  rights  of  man,"  that  they  may  really  have  been 
led  to  forget,  that  a  part  of  the  rights  of  individual,  iso- 
lated man  must  be  sacrificed,  when  he  wishes  to  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  society ;  and  they  may  really  have  been 
sincerely  working  for  the  establishment  of  these  rights, 
by  undermining  the  society  to  which  they  belonged. 
But  whatever  may  have  been  their  intentions,  tneir  acts 
bequeathed  misery  and  crimes  unparalleled,  to  those 
masses  who  were  looking  up  to  them  with  unlimited 
confidence.  It  is  when  reflecting  upon  this  misery  and 
these  crimes,  produced  by  the  acts  of  those  wko,  with 
presumptuous  audacity,  took  upon  themselves  to  despise 
every  safeguard  of  the  common  welfare  which  the  past 
history  of  their  country  offered,  and  to  create,  at  one 
stroke,  a  constitution  which  should  answer  every  exi- 
gency of  the  times,  that  we  almost  forget  the  more  pas- 
sive faults  of  the  other  orders  of  the  state,  while  the 
whole  weight  of  our  indignation  falls  upon  these  self- 
sufficient  law-breakers  and  constitution-makers. 

The  alarm  of  the  court  increased  ;  Paris  was  in  vio- 
lent agitation — the  aristocracy  were  accused  of  trying  to 
destroy  the  States-General ;  the  scarcity  of  provisions 
augmented  ;  bands  of  starving  wretches,  known  in  the 
history  cf  these  times  under  the  name  of  brigands,  roved 
about  the  country,  burning  and  pillaging  the  huts  of  the 
poor  as  well  as  the  palaces  of  the  wealthy.  Those  who 
had  all  their  lives  been  at  war  with  law,  had  an  instinc- 
tive foreboding  that  their  great  oppressor  was  to  be 
crushed,  and  gave  earnest  of  how  they  intended  to  use 
their  liberty.  Those  on  the  other  side  who  had  some- 
thing to  lose,  began  to  league  themselves  together,  not 

VOL.  I.  9 


98  ITS  DECISIVE  MEASURES. 

only  to  preserve  their  property,  but  also  to  defend  theii 
deputies,  little  thinking  that  it  was  these  very  deputies 
who  were  undermining  the  edifice,  and  letting  loose  those 
evils  from  which  they  already  began  to  suffer. 

The  moment  was  decisive  for  the  tiers  etals.  The 
propositions  made  to  them  were  such  as  they  could  not 
refuse  upon  any  plausible  pretext,  and  to  avoid  accepting, 
the  first  revolutionary  step  must  be  taken.  Upon  the 
12th  June,  it  was  resolved  that  the  two  orders  should, 
for  the  last  time,  be  invited  individually,  as  well  as  col- 
lectively, to  join  tlie  commons,  to  assist,  to  concur  in, 
and  to  submit  to  the  verification  of  powers  in  common. 
At  the  same  time,  an  address  was  sent  to  the  king,  to 
announce  the  resolution  to  which  the  commons  had 
come.  The  two  orders  replied  that  they  must  deliber- 
ate, and  the  king,  that  he  would  make  known  his  inten- 
tions ;  according  to  the  concerted  plan,  the  commons 
awaited  neither,  but  proceeded  to  the  calling  over  the 
bailiwicks,  and  the  verification  of  the  powers  of  those 
that  were  absent,  as  of  those  that  were  present,  during 
which  time  they  were  joined  by  three  curates,  delegates 
from  Poitou,  and  members  of  the  assembly  of  the  clergy. 
The  next  day  six  more  were  added  to  the  number,  and 
the  triumph  of  the  popular  party  began. 

When  the  verification  of  the  powers  was  concluded, 
the  assembly,  anxious  to  break  with  the  past,  rejected 
the  name  of  the  States-General,  which  must  indeed  to 
them  have  been  a  burdensome  restraint,  and  a  discus- 
sion arose  as  to  what  name  they  should  assume.  Mira- 
beau  proposed  that  of  representatives  of  the  French  peo- 
ple, Mounier,  deputy  of  Grenoble,  that  of  the  majority 
deliberating  in  the  absence  of  the  minority ;  the  deputy 
Legrand,  that  of  the  National  Assembly,  which  latter 
was  finally  adopted,  after  a  discussion  that  lasted  till 


NATIOr»AL  ASSEMBLY.  99 

midnight.  On  the  next  day  (17th  June)  the  proposition 
was  put  to  the  vote,  and  adopted  by  a  majority  of  four 
hundred  and  ninety-one  against  ninety,  and  the  commons 
declared  themselves  constituted  a  National  Assembly,  in 
a  document  drawn  up  by  Abbe  Sieyes. 

"  The  asseml)ly  deliberating  after  the  verification  of 
its  powers,  declares  that  it  is  composed  of  representatives 
chosen  by  ninety-six  hundredths  at  least  ol  the  nation. 
Such  a  mass  of  deputation  cannot  remain  inactive  on  ac- 
count of  the  absence  of  the  deputies  of  some  bailiwicks,  or 
of  some  class  of  the  citizens  ;  for  the  absentees,  who  have 
been  summoned,  cannot  hinder  those  present  from  exer- 
cising the  plentitude  of  their  rights,  especially  when  the 
exercise  of  these  rights  is  an  imperious  and  pressing 
duty. 

"  Further,  since  it  only  belongs  to  representatives 
whose  powers  have  been  verified,  to  fulfil  the  national 
will,  and  that  all  the  verified  representatives  ought  to  be 
in  this  assembly,  it  must  of  necessity  be  concluded,  that 
to  it,  it  belongs,  and  to  none  but  it,  to  interpret  and  re- 
present the  general  will  of  the  nation. 

"  There  cannot  exist  between  the  throne  and  this  as- 
sembly any  veto,  or  negative  power. 

"  The  national  assembly  declares,  then,  that  the  gen- 
eral business  of  national  redress  can  and  ought  to  be  be- 
gun without  delay  by  the  deputies  present,  and  that  they 
ought  to  pursue  it  without  any  interruption  or  ofrstacle. 

"  The  denomination  of  National  Assembly  is  the  only 
one  which  suits  the  assembly  in  the  actual  state  of  things : 
first,  because  the  members  who  compose  it,  are  the  only 
representatives  legitimately  and  publicly  known  and  veri- 
fied ;  secondly,  because  they  are  deputed  by  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  nation  ;  and  lastly,  because  representation 
being  one  and  indivisible,  no  deputy,  in  whatever  order 


100         CONSTERNATION  OF  THE  COURT. 

or  class  he  may  be  chosen,  has  a  right  to  exercise  hia 
powers  separately  from  this  assembly. 

"  The  assembly  will  never  lose  the  hope  of  uniting  in 
its  bosom  all  the  deputies  at  present  absent.  It  will 
never  cease  to  call  upon  them  to  fulfil  the  obligation 
which  is  imposed  upon  them,  of  joining  the  assembly  of 
the  States-General.  At  whatever  moment  in  the  session 
which  is  about  to  open,  the  absent  members  may  present 
themselves,  the  assembly  declares  beforehand,  that  it 
will  with  alacrity  receive  them,  and  cordially  co-operate 
with  them  in  their  efforts  to  regenerate  the  kingdom." 

Immediately  after  this  resolution  was  passed,  an  ad- 
dress was  voted  to  the  king  and  to  the  nation,  and  all  the 
members  took  a  solemn  oath  "  to  execute  with  zeal  and 
fidelity,  the  functions  with  which  they  were  charged," 
and  then  to  give  a  proof  of  its  power,  as  well  as  from  a 
desire  not  to  impede  the  march  of  administration,  it  le- 
galized the  existing  taxes,  though  established  without 
the  consent  of  the  nation,  and  decided  that  they  should 
continue  for  the  present  to  be  raised  in  the  usual  manner, 
except  in  the  case  that  the  assembly  should  be  dissolved  ; 
it  placed  the  debts  of  the  state  "  under  the  safeguard  of 
the  honor  of  the  nation."  Finally,  it  announced  that  it 
would  immediately  proceed  to  examine  into  the  causes 
of  the  existing  scarcity,  and  of  the  public  suffering. 

The  court,  stupified  at  the  evidence  of  so  much  firm- 
ness and  audacity,  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  still  great- 
er consternation  the  next  day,  on  learning  that  the  clergy, 
after  a  tumultuous  deliberation,  in  which  a  majority  of 
one  hundred  and  forty-nine,  composed  of  the  curates, 
had  carried  it  over  a  minority  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen, 
had  joined  the  commons. 

The  nobles,  the  parliament,  the  princes  of  the  blood, 
and  the  queen,  all  joined  in  endeavors  to  make  the  king 


MEASURES  AGAINST  THE  TIERS  ETAT.  101 

feel  in  all  its  threatening  dangerousness,  the  usurpation 
of  the  tiers  ctat,  and  Necker  advised  to  put  a  stop  to  its 
illegal  proceedings  by  a  royal  sitting,  in  which  the  king 
should  make  all  the  concessions  which  were  demanded, 
and  should  himself  order  the  union  of  the  three  estates 
into  one  single  assembly. 

Strange,  that  already  at  this  early  stage,  Louis  XVI. 
should  have  been  advised  to  present  that  extraordinary 
anomaly  :  a  king  legalizing  a  revolution,  the  evident  ten- 
dency of  which  was  to  subvert  the  constitution,  in  vir- 
tue of  which  he  held  the  power  that  he  was  thus  advised 
to  prostrate.  There  seems  not  even  among  the  men  de- 
voted to  royalty,  to  have  been  one  who  understood,  that 
the  sanctity  of  law  and  the  sanctity  of  royalty  are  in- 
dissolubly  connected,  and  that  when  the  one  is  violated, 
the  other  must  fall. 

The  court  supported  the  proposal  of  Necker,  and  it 
was  determined  that  a  bold  and  decisive  step  should  be 
taken.  In  the  mean  while  measures  were  resorted  to,  in 
order  to  prevent  the  meeting  of  the  assembly,  until  the 
royal  sitting  should  take  place,  which  greatly  exaspera- 
ted the  public  mind,  and  led  to  farther  revolutionary 
proceedings. 

On  the  20th  of  June,  the  very  day  appointed  for  the 
union  of  the  clergy  with  the  commons,  and  without  any 
previous  notice  to  the  assembly,  except  a  verbal  message 
to  its  president,  Bailly,  a  placard  was  stuck  on  the  great 
door  of  the  assembly-room,  announcing  that  the  States- 
General  could  not  meet  on  that  or  on  the  two  following 
days,  on  account  of  the  preparations  to  be  made  for  the 
royal  sitting,  which  his  majesty  intended  to  hold  on 
the  23d. 

Nothing  exceeded  the  astonishment  and  indignation 
of  the  deputies,  when  they  presented  themselves  at  the 

9* 


102  OATH  OF  THE  JEU  DE  PAUME. 

door  of  tlieir  assembly-room,  and  found  it  shut  against 
them ;  many  proposed  forcing  the  entrance  in  spite  of 
the  soldiers  who  guarded  it,  but  upon  their  being  joined 
by  Bailly,  they  had  recourse  to  less  violent  means.  The 
president  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  deputies,  de- 
manded admittance,  which  being  refused  by  the  officer 
on  guard,  in  virtue  of  a  royal  order  which  he  produced, 
the  president  called  upon  those  present  to  witness,  that 
he  protested  in  the  name  of  the  National  Assembly 
against  this  refusal  of  admittance  ;  after  which,  tie  de- 
puties, whose  number  amounted  to  almost  six  hundred, 
assembled  in  a  noisy  and  discontented  group  in  the 
"  avenue  de  Pans,"  which  affords  a  view  of  the  palace 
of  Versailles,  at  the  windows  of  which,  it  is  said,  the 
courtiers  were  observed  watching  and  laughing  at  the 
disconsolate  legislators,  shivering  in  the  cold  and  driz- 
zling rain. 

But  the  tiers  etat,  nothing  daunted,  was  determined 
upon  holding  its  sitting,  and  was  merely  deliberating 
upon  where  it  should  take  place.  Some  proposed  fol- 
lowing the  king  to  Marly,  whither  he  had  retired  ;  others 
wished  to  hold  their  assembly  on  the  plain  before  the 
palace  windows ;  but  at  last  some  one  named  the  Tennis 
X!ourt  (Jeu  de  Paume)  close  by  in  the  Rue  St.  Francois  ; 
and  braving  the  perils  of  thus  forming  into  an  assembly, 
which  more  able  authorities  would  have  dispersed  by 
force,  the  deputies  repaired  to  this  hall,  which  was  im- 
mediately surrounded  by  the  populace,  who  sympathized 
most  ardently  with  all  that  was  going  on.  iVIounier 
opened  the  session  with  a  speech,  in  which  he  said, 
"  Wounded  in  our  rights  and  in  our  dignity — acquainted 
with  the  vivacity  of  the  intrigues,  and  with  the  violence 
of  the  animosity  by  which  the  king  is  forced  on  to  take 
disastrous  measures,  it  is  our  duty  to  bind  ourselves  by 


PETTY  OPPOSITION  OF  THE  COURT.        103 

a  solemn  oath,  not  to  desert  the  cause  of  the  public  wel- 
fare and  the  national  interests."  In  consequence  here- 
of, the  president  Bailly,  mounting  upon  a  table,  pronoun- 
ced the  following  oath  :  "  We  swear  never  to  desert  the 
national  assembly,  and  to  assemble  whenever  circum- 
stances render  it  necessary,  until  the  constitution  of  the 
state  is  framed  and  based  upon  solid  foundations." 
Every  arm  was  raised,  and  an  enthusiastic  "  We  swear," 
burst  from  all  lips,  whilst  the  populace  without  respond- 
ed to  the  shout. 

The  court,  thrown  into  new  alarm  and  anxiety  by 
these  extraordinary  proceedings,  closed  this  new  assem- 
bly-room by  hiring  the  Tennis  Court  for  its  own  diver- 
sions ;  the  persevering  deputies  were  not  thereby  pre- 
vented from  acting  in  accordance  with  their  oath,  and 
aorain  assembled  on  the  22d  of  June,  in  the  church  of 
St.  Louis,  where  they  were  joined  by  one  hundred  and 
forty-eight  members  of  the  clergy,  and  two  of  the  nobili- 
ty, and  they  adjourned  till  the  next  day,  the  one  appoint- 
ed for  the  royal  sitting,  full  of  anxiety  as  to  what  it  was 
to  bring. 

The  military,  who  were  marshalled  in  great  array  on 
the  23d  of  May,  proved  what  were  the  feelings  of  the 
court  towards  the  assembly,  and  the  deep  silence  in 
which  the  people  contemplated  the  pomp  of  the  royal 
cortege,  proved  what  were  the  feelings  of  the  people  to- 
wards the  court. 

It  had  been  intimated  to  the  commons  on  the  previous 
day,  that  no  discussions  would  be  allowed  on  the  morrow, 
and  the  exasperation  occasioned  by  the  breach  of  the 
usual  parliamentary  forms,  according  to  which  a  royal 
sitting  admitted  full  liberty  of  discussion,  was  farther 
aggravated,  when  on  the  day  of  the  royal  sitting  they 
were  kept  for  half  an  hour  in  the  rain  without  the  side 


104  \  THE  ROYAL  SITTING. 

door,  through  which  they  were  to  be  admitted,  under 
the  pretence  that  it  was  yet  too  early.  When  at  last 
their  impatience  grew  so  violent,  that  it  was  considered 
dangerous  to  put  it  to  a  farther  test,  and  they  were  ad- 
mitted, they  found  the  court  and  the  two  other  orders 
already  seated.  It  has  been  said  in'excuse  of  the  court, 
that  they  had  had  recourse  to  this  pitiful  and  paltry  ex- 
pedient to  prevent  the  quarrels  that  would  most  likely 
have  arisen,  during  the  scuffle  for  places  ;  but  even  if  this 
be  really  so,  one  cannot  but  regret  that  the  king  should 
have  had  such  injudicious  advisers,  and  that  he  himself 
should  not  have  been  aware,  that-wounded  self-esteem  is 
an  unquiet  and  revengeful  feeling. 

The  king,  in  opening  the  sitting,  spoke  with  unusual 
severity,  but  his  weakness  was  already  too  well  known 
for  this  semblance  of  firmness  to  produce  any  eifect. 
"  It  is  my  command,"  said  he,  "  that  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  three  orders  of  the  state  be  not  infringed :  the 
deputies  forming  three  chambers,  and  deliberating  separ- 
ately, except  when  with  the  royal  sanction  they  shall 
deliberate  in  common,  can  alone  be  considered  as  form- 
ing a  body  representing  the  nation.  Wherefore  I  declare 
null  and  void  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  tiers  etat,  as 
being  illegal  and  unconstitutional."  He  further  prohibit- 
ed them  from  occupying  themselves  with  questions  rela- 
tive to  the  ancient  and  constituent  rights  of  the  three 
orders,  the  form  of  the  constitution  of  the  state,  feudal 
and  seigniorial  rights  and  property,  &c.  &c.  ;  and  lastly, 
he  submitted  to  their  examination,  and  adopted  in  ad- 
vance, the  following  innovations  ;  taxes  and  loans  to  be 
submitted  to  the  consent  of  the  representatives  of  the  na- 
tion ;  the  budget  to  be  published  ;  abolition  of  all  immu- 
nities with  regard  to  taxation,  individual  liberty  to  be 
established,  as  well  as  liberty  of  the  press ;  the  estab- 


INDIGNATION  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY.  105 

lishment  of  provincial  assemblies,  the  abolition  of  cor- 
vees,  internal  customs,  duties,  &c.  The  king  added, 
"  I  can  with  truth  say,  that  never  has  any  monarch  done 
so  much  for  any  nation."  But  commands  and  conces- 
sions both  came  too  late — too  late  for  the  former  to  be 
obeyed — too  late  for  the  latter  to  be  appreciated.  When 
a  people  has  arrived  at  the  point  that  it  can  force  its 
governors  into  concessions,  it  is  but  little  inclined  to  be 
grateful  when  they  are  made. 

When  the  king  left  the  assembly,  after  having  com- 
manded it  to  resume  its  sittings  next  day,  according  to 
the  regulations  he  had  laid  down,  he  was  followed  by 
the  nobles  and  a  part  of  the  clergy,  but  the  commons, 
who,  during  the  whole  sitting,  had  maintained  a  deep 
and  evil-boding  silence,  retained  their  jilaces,  interchang- 
ing looks  of  the  utmost  astonishment.  At  length  Mira- 
beau  rising  addressed  them  as  follows  :  "  Gentlemen,  I 
confesst  hat  what  we  have  just  heard  might  be  the  sav- 
ing of  our  country,  were  not  the  presence  of  despotism 
always  dangerous.  What  means  this  insulting  dictator- 
ship 1  What  means  this  display  of  arms,  this  violation 
of  the  national  temple,  in  order  to  render  you  happy  1 
Who  is  it  that  has  given  you  these  commands  1  Your 
functionary  1  Who  is  it  that  issues  imperious  laws  1 
Your  functionary  ?  He  who  ought  to  receive  them 
from  us,  who  constitute  a  political  priesthood,  which 
must  not  be  violated  ;  from  us,  in  fine,  from  whom 
twenty-five  millions  of  men  expect  certain  happiness, 
because  it  will,  by  universal  consent,  be  given  and  re- 
ceived by  all !  I  call  upon  you  to  exert  your  dignity 
and  your  legislative  power,  and  to  call  to  mind  the  reli- 
gious obligations  of  your  oath,  which  will  not  suffer  you 
to  separate  until  the  constitution  is  made  and  establish- 
ed."    The  grand  master  of  the  ceremonies  here  entered 


106  GENERAL  EXCITEMENT. 

to  reiterate  the  king's  orders  to  adjourn,  and  was  re- 
plied to  by  Mirabeau,  "  Go  tell  your  master  that  we  are 
here  by  the  power  of  the  people,  and  will  not  be  driven 
hence  but  by  the  power  of  the  bayonet."  The  whole 
assembly  shouted  their  concurrence,  and  Si^yes  rising 
said,  "  We  have  sworn,  and  our  oath  shall  not  be  a  vain 
one,  we  have  sworn  to  re-establish  the  rights  of  the 
people.  The  authorities  which  have  appointed  us  for 
this  great  undertaking,  demand  a  constitution.  Who 
can  make  one  without  us  ■?  Who  can  make  one  if  it  be 
not  us  1  Gentlemen,  you  are  to-day  what  you  were 
yesterday."  Upon  which  the  assembly  unanimously 
declared  that  it  persisted  in  the  resolutions  already  ta- 
ken, and  decreed  the  inviolability  of  its  members. 

In  the  mean  while  the  court,  ignorant  of  what  was 
passing  in  the  assembly,  was  congratulating  itself  upon 
the  probable  effect  of  its  vigorous  measures ;  and  it  is 
said  the  queen,  unhappily  abandoning  herself  to  a  blind 
confidence,  in  her  joy  held  up  her  son  in  her  arms,  pre- 
senting him  to  her  devoted  servants,  who  were  express- 
ing their  satisfaction  at  the  triumphs  gained  over  her 
factious  subjects,  when  the  happy  dreams  in  which  they 
were  indulging,  were  dispelled  by  the  shouts  of  the 
populace  thanking  Necker  for  having  absented  himself 
from  the  royal  sitting. 

A  contemporary  has  well  described  the  state  of  the 
country  at  this  period,  and  the  effect  produced  by  the 
acts  of  the  court,  in  the  following  words  ;  "  It  would  be 
impossible  to  describe  the  shuddering  that  came  over 
me,  at  the  bare  mention  of  the  words,  '  The  king  has 
annulled  every  thing.'  I  felt  the  secret  fire  burning 
under  my  feet ;  it  needed  but  one  word,  and  civil  war 
would  have  burst  over  the  land."  The  public  sympathy 
with,  and  the  approbation  of,  the  acts  of  the  National 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  107 

Assembly,  were  expressed  in  addresses  that  poured  in 
from  all  parts  of  the  country,  among  which  was  one 
from  the  rabble  of  the  Palais  Royal,  ominous  of  the 
heavings  of  society  that  were  throwing  up  the  mud  from 
the  bottom  t;  the  surface.  A  complete  system  of  com- 
mittees of  correspondence  had  already  been  organized 
all  over  the  country,  to  convey  the  electric  shock  from 
the  assembly  to  its  remotest  parts  ;  but  lest  these  means 
should  not  be  sufficient  to  spread  the  revolutionary  doc- 
trines, the  clubs  also  had  their  committees  of  insurrec- 
tion. These  clubs  had  become  so  e.xcited,  that  the 
Abbe  Sieyes  himself  declared  that  he  could  no  longer 
frequent  them,  because  "  they  proposed  crimes  as  expe- 
dients." 

France  was  inundated  with  papers  and  pamphlets  ad- 
vocating the  most  extreme  measures.  Whoever  dared 
to  hold  a  middle  course,  and  preach  moderation,  was  de- 
nounced as  an  aristocrat  and  a  traitor. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Deliberations  of  the  National  Assembly — Constitution  of  France — General 
Agitation — Disaffection  of  the  Soldiers — Dismissal  of  Necker — Outbursts 
of  the  Revolutionists  in  consequence — Paris  in  the  hands  of  the  Mob — 
Takingof  the  Bastille — Dreadful  Cruelties — The  Assembly  and  the  king — 
Mirabeau's  Speech — Reconciliation  between  the  King  and  the  Assembly 
— Deputation  of  Members  to  Paris — The  King  goes  to  Paris — Returns  to 
Versailles — Murder  of  M.  de  Foulon  and  his  Son-in-law — Emigration. 

On  the  24th  of  June,  the  court  took  no  further  meas- 
ures to  prevent  the  meeting  of  the  assembly  than  send- 
ing in  carpenters  and  other  workmen,  escorted  by  a  few 
soldiers,  to  demolish  the  temporary  galleries  that  had 
been  raised  for  the  ceremony  of  the  preceding  day ;  but 


108  THE  CONSTITUTION. 

the  deputies  continued  their  deliberations,  in  spite  of 
hammering  and  noise,  and  were  joined  by  the  majority 
of  the  clergy  and  the  minority  of  the  nobles,  who,  hav- 
ing endeavored  in  vain  to  influence  the  rest  of  their  par- 
ty, had  at  last  decided  upon  separating  from  them  ;  and 
two  days  after,  the  king,  alarmed  at  the  growing  audaci- 
ty of  the  mob,  himself  invited  the  rest  of  the  two  orders 
to  join  the  assembly,  but  though  they  ceded  to  the  royal 
entreaties,  they  did  not  fail  to  behave  so  as  to  intimate 
their  protest  against  the  legality  of  the  assembly  in  its 
present  form. 

However,  the  deliberations  upon  the  constitution  to 
be  given  to  the  kingdom  went  on,  and  the  necessity  for 
such  a  step  was  always  supported  by  the  absurd  asser- 
tion, that  France  (a  monarchy  that  had  stood  for  fourteen 
centuries)  had  no  constitution,  an  assertion  that  proves 
more  than  any  thing  else  how  vague  must  have  been  the 
ideas  of  the  assembly  upon  such  subjects,*  and  M.  Lally 

*  M.  Thiers,  one  of  the  inheritors  of  the  principles  and  statesmanship  of 
those  days,  says,  in  a  note  to  liis  History  of  the  Frevch  Revolution,  "The 
question,  as  to  whether  she  had  or  had  not  a  constitution,  seems  to  me  to 
be  one  of  the  most  important  of  tiie  Revolution,  for  it  is  only  the  absence  of 
fundamental  laws,  that  can  justify  our  undertaking  to  frame  them."  And 
M.  Thiers  then  quotes,  as  his  authority  for  maintaining  that  France  had  no 
constitution,  a  speech  of  M.  Lally  Tollendal  in  the  National  Assembly.  Let 
us  see,  however,  if  other  and  more  competent  judges  have  not  asserted  the 
reverse,  and  if  M.  Thiers,  in  the  above-quoted  passage,  has  not  pronounced 
thecondemnationof  the  legislative  labors  of  the  National  Assembly.  In  1795, 
several  members  of  the  ancient  magistracy  of  France  drew  up  a  work  under 
the  title  of  Developincnt  of  the  Fundamental  Principles  of  the  French 
Monarchy,  in  which  they  state  that  "  the  constitution  attributes  to  the  king 
the  legislative  power.  From  him  emanate  all  laws:  he  has  the  right  to  ad- 
minister justice  himself,  or  to  have  it  administered  by  his  officers  ;  the  right 
of  pardon,  and  of  granting  all  privileges  and  recompenses  ;  of  appointing  to 
the  offices  of  the  state,  and  of  conferring  nobility  ;  of  convoking  and  of  dia 
solving  national  assemblies,  whenever  he  in  his  wisdom  shall  judge  it  con- 
venient. The  king  has,  moreover,  the  right  of  making  war  and  peace,  and 
of  assembUng  the  armies,"  (p.  28.)  "The  king  only  governs  by  the  laws, 
and  is  not  invested  with  the  pow'er  of  doing  every  thing  that  his  appetites 
may  suggest,"  (p.  364.)  "  There  are  laws  which  the  kings  themselves  have 
declared  themselves  happily  unable  to  break.    These  are  the  statutea  of  tke 


THE  CONSTITUTION.  109 

Tollendal,  one  of  the  members  of  the  minority  of  the  no- 
bles that  had  first  joined  the  Tiers,  lived  to  see  and  to 
deplore  the  consequences  of  his  sincere  but  injudicious 
zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  people. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  court  drew  together  troops 
from  all  sides ;  40,000  men  were  stationed  about  Paris 
and  Versailles,  but  the  courtiers,  with  their  usual  care- 
lessness, took  all  their  measures  as  publicly  as  possible, 

realm,  distinguished  from  the  laws  of  circumstances,  or  the  laws  not  having 
reference  to  the  constitution,  which  are  denominated  the  king's  laics,"  (p. 
29.)  "The  kings,  as  supreme  legislators,  have  always,  in  promulgating 
their  laws,  spoken  in  the  affirmative.  There  is,  however,  a  consent  of  the 
people ;  but  a  consent  which  is  merely  the  expression  of  the  wishes,  the 
gratitude,  and  the  acceptance  of  the  people,"  (p.  271.)  "The  nation  is 
represented  by  three  orders,  divided  into  three  chambers,  and  deliberating 
separately  :  the  result  of  the  deliberations,  if  unanimous,  present  the  resolu- 
tions of  tlie  States  General,"  (p.  332.)  "The  laws  of  the  realm  cannot  be 
passed  e.xcept  in  a  general  assembly  of  the  whole  kingdom,  and  with  the 
concurrence  of  the  three  orders  of  the  state.  The  king  cannot  derogate  these 
laws,  and,  if  he  dares  to  violate  them,  all  that  he  does  may  be  annulled  by 
his  successor,"  (pp.  292  and  293.)  "The  necessity  of  the  consent  of  the  na- 
tion to  the  imposition  of  taxes,  is  an  incontestable  truth,  and  is  recognised  aa 
such  by  the  kings,"  (p.  302.)  "The  resolutions  of  the  two  orders  cannot 
be  considered  binding  to  the  third,  unless  by  its  own  consent,"  (p.  302.) 
"The  consent  of  the  Slates-General  is  necessary  for  the  validity  of  every 
perpetual  alienation  of  the  domains,"  (p.  303.)  And  the  same  watchful- 
ness is  recommended  to  them,  in  order  to  prevent  any  partial  dismember- 
ment of  the  realm.  "Justice  is  administered  in  the  king's  name  by  magis- 
trates, who  are  to  examine  the  laws,  and  to  see  that  they  are  not  in  opposp- 
tion  to  the  fundamental  statutes  of  the  kingdom,"  (p.  345.)  "A  part  of 
the  duty  of  these  magistrates  is  to  resist  the  sovereign  when  he  is  in  error," 
(p.  345.)  "The  military  power  mu.^t  not  interfere  with  the  civil  adminis- 
tration. The  governors  of  provinces  have  no  command,  save  in  what  cot»- 
cerns  the  armed  force,  which  they  may  make  use  of  against  the  enemies  of 
the  state,  but  not  against  the  citizens,  who  are  subjected  to  the  tribunals  of 
the  state,"  (p.  3G4.)  "The  magistrates  are  unremovable,  and  their  import- 
ant offices  cannot  be  considered  vacated  except  by  the  death  of  the  occii. 
pant,  by  his  voluntary  resignation,  or  by  legal  forfeiture,"  (p.  356.)  "  In 
causes  that  concern  the  king,  he  is  obliged  to  plead  before  his  tribunals 
against  his  people,"  (p.  367.)  A  profound  writer,  commenting  on  this  work, 
gays,  "  If  it  be  remarked  that  the.se  excellent  laws  were  not  executed,  in  that 
case  it  was  the  fault  of  the  French  people,  and  there  is  no  more  hope  of  lib- 
erty for  them :  for,  when  a  people  does  not  know  how  to  avail  itself  of  ita 
existing  fundamental  laws,  it  is  useless  for  it  to  seek  for  others, — it  is  a  sign, 
that  it  is  not  made  for  liberty,  or  that  it  is  irredeemably  corrupt." — Ds  Mai»» 
TRK,  Considerations  sur  la  France,  p.  107. 
VOL.  I.  10 


110  DISAFFECTION  OF  THE  SOLDIERS. 

and  acted  without  any  fixed  plan,  so  that  their  array  of 
troops  served  more  to  betray  their  weakness  than  to  en- 
sure the  safety  of  their  party.  The  capital  was  in  a 
state  of  the  most  dreadful  fermentation,  in  consequence 
of  the  alarming  reports  that  were  spread  as  to  the  inten- 
tions of  the  court.  It  was  said  that  the  king  was  goin» 
to  dissolve  the  National  Assembly,  to  declare  a  national 
bankruptcy,  to  reduce  the  town  by  famine,  &c.  &c.  ; 
and  the  citizens,  as  well  as  the  populace,  were  preparing 
not  only  to  counteract  these  projects,  but  to  anticipate 
them.  The  Palais  Royal,  the  usual  place  of  meeting 
of  the  agitators  and  news-hunters,  was  crowded  with 
people  who  came  to  learn,  and  to  descant  on  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  assembly,  to  excite  each  other  to  resistance 
to  the  legal  authorities,  and  to  win  over  by  violent  ha- 
rangues those  who  were  not  already  willing  to  go  to  any 
length  to  break  all  existing  laws,  in  order  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  making  new  ones.  On  the  30th  June  an 
event  took  place,  which  must  have  been  to  the  court 
one  of  the  most  portentous  signs  of  the  times,  as  it  prov- 
ed that  even  the  army  was  not  to  be  depended  upon. 
Attempts  had  repeatedly  been  made  to  corrupt  the  troops 
stationed  in  Paris,  and  particularly  the  French  guards, 
who  had  their  permanent  quarters  there.  These  at- 
tempts had  not  been  unsuccessful.  The  soldiers  had 
several  times  taken  part  in  the  revolutionary  demon- 
strations of  the  populace,  and  had  declared  that  they 
would  never  draw  a  trigger  against  their  fellow-citizens. 
On  the  30th,  several  soldiers  who  had  been  imprisoned 
for  similar  conduct  were  violently  released  by  the  Paris- 
ian mob,  who  then  addressed  a  petition  in  their  favor  to 
the  National  Assembly,  which,  in  its  turn,  recommended 
them  to  the  clemency  of  the  king.  The  guards  were 
imprisoned  again  to  save  appearances,  but  liberated  the 


DISMISSAL  OF  NECKER.  Ill 

next  day.  The  National  Assembly  participated  in  the 
terrors  of  the  capital,  and,  trembling  for  its  own  safety, 
in  seeing  the  road  between  Paris  and  Versailles  blocked 
up  by  troops,  kept  up  a  regular  correspondence  with  the 
plotters  in  the  former  city,  with  the  mob  of  the  Palais 
Royal,  and  with  the  electors,  who  had  declared  on  the 
12th  May  that  they  would  remain  together  to  support  the 
deliberations  of  the  States-General.  At  last,  anxious  to 
ascertain  its  real  position,  it  openly  denounced  the  gov- 
ernment to  the-  nation,  and,  in  an  address  to  the  king, 
demanded  the  removal  of  the  troops,  which  impeded  the 
freedom  of  their  deliberations.  The  king  replied  to  this 
address  that  he  had  called  the  regiments  together  to  pre- 
vent any  disturbances,  and  if  the  States-General  felt 
themselves  constrained  in  their  deliberations,  they  were 
at  liberty  to  retire  to  Soissons  or  Noyon,  a  permission 
which  was  translated  into  a  desire  to  place  them  be- 
tween two  camps,  and  was  consequently  not  acted  upon. 
The  court,  which  had  long  been  divided  between  con- 
flicting opinions, — some  being  for  the  most  extreme 
measures  of  coercion,  others,  among  whom  was  Necker, 
for  concessions, — now  grown  bolder,  determined  to  strike 
a  decisive  blow,  and  Necker,  who  had  hitherto  been  im- 
plored to  retain  his  office,  in  order  that  his  popularity 
might  in  some  measure  shield  the  court  against  the  pub- 
lic animosity,  was  now  dismissed,  together  with  the 
other  liberal  members  of  the  ministry,  and  they  were 
replaced  by  ultra-aristocrats.  Necker's  dismissal,  which 
even  bore  the  semblance  of  banishment,  as  he  left  France 
the  very  same  day,  was  known  in  Paris  the  next  day  (12th 
Tuly,  1789)  and  caused  the  greatest  uneasiness.  Not- 
withstanding the  number  of  troops  dispersed  about  the 
town,  and  in  the  neighborhood,  great  crowds  collected 
together,  particularly  in  the  gardens  of  the  Palais  Royal, 


112  CAMILLE  DESMOULINS. 

where  a  young  man,  Camille  Desmoulins,  mounted  upon 
a  chair,  pistol  in  hand,  and  harangued  the  bystanders : 
"  Citizens,"  said  he,  "  there  is  not  a  moment  to  lose. 
The  dismissal  of  Necker  is  the  signal  for  a  St.  Bartholo- 
mew of  patriots.  This  very  evening  the  foreign  battal- 
ions will  leave  their  camp  in  the  Champ  de  Mars,  to 
come  and  murder  us.  We  have  but  one  resource  left, 
and  that  is  to  fly  to  arms."  "  To  arms  !"  reiterated  his 
inflammable  auditors  ;  and,  following  the  example  of 
their  leader,  each  man  plucked  a  leaf  from  the  trees  of 
the  garden,  and  stuck  it  in  his  hat  as  a  cockade.  They 
next  proceeded  to  the  shop  of  a  wax-worker,  seized  upon 
the  busts  of  Necker  and  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  (whose 
gold,  it  is  said,  had  not  a  little  part  in  the  enthusiastic 
exhibitions  which  so  frequently  took  place,)  and  paraded 
them  through  the  street.  Camille  Desmoulins'  predic- 
tions of  the  movements  of  the  troops  then,  of  course, 
proved  true  ;  but  the  havoc  committed  by  the  regiment 
of  cavalry,  headed  by  the  Prince  de  Lambesc,  which 
charged  the  mob  assembled  in  the  Tuileries  Gardens, 
was  not  great.  However,  the  accounts  of  all  tliese  en- 
counters between  the  royalists  and  the  people,  are  so  dif- 
ferently given  by  the  different  parties,  each  charging  the 
other  with  the  greatest  excesses,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
discern  the  truth.  It  may  with  probability  be  inferred 
that  both  parties  have  been  greatly  in  fault,  for  civil  war 
is  a  fearful  instigator  of  evil  passions.  The  fury  of  the 
people  became  more  and  more  uncontrollable  ;  the  alarm- 
bell  sounded,  the  barriers  were  burnt,  the  shops  of  the 
armorers  pillaged,  and  troops  of  brigands,  mingling  with 
the  people,  augmented  the  terror  and  the  devastation,  by 
burning  and  pillaging  wherever  they  went.  The  French 
guards,  fully  imbued  with  all  the  revolutionary  notions, 
left  their  barracks,-  where  the  authorities  had  command- 


TUMULTS. 


113 


ed  them  to  be  held  under  restraint,  and,  bayonet  in  hand, 
charged  the  regiments  that  remained  faithful,  and  drove 
them  from  their  posts. 

During  this  time  the  electors  had  assembled  at  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  whence  they  directed  the  riots,  and 
taking  upon  themselves  the  authority  of  the  municipal- 
ity, they  delivered  the  arms  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  into 
the  hands  of  the  multitude,  and  ordered  the  convocation 
of  the  assemhUes  primaires  of  the  districts,  and  finally 
decreed  the  formation  of  a  civic  guard  of  forty  thousand 
men,  bearing  a  blue  and  red  cockade,  the  colors  of  Paris. 
This  city  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  mob  during  the 
night,  and  the  next  morning  things  bore  a  still  more  tu- 
multuous aspect.  The  militia  was  formed,  and  joined 
by  the  soldiers  of  the  French  guard,  and  of  the  police 
force,  iguet.) 

Camille  Desmoulins,  who  in  his  restless  ardor  was 
everywhere,  had  arranged  a  separate  militia  of  the  stu- 
dents of  the  university  and  of  the  school  of  medicine  ; 
and  the  lawyers'  clerks  had  formed  themselves  into  a 
volunteer  corps.  Wherever  arms  were  to  be  had,  they 
were  seized  upon  by  the  mob,  who  also,  for  want  of 
more  regular  weapons,  laid  hold  of  any  thing  that  came 
within  their  grasp.  The  pavement  of  the  streets  was 
torn  up  to  form  barricades,  and  large  stones  were  car- 
ried into  the  houses  to  be  used  as  missiles  against  the 
troops,  who  played  but  a  sorry  part  in  all  this  turmoil, 
for  want  of  energy  and  judgment  in  their  commanders. 
The  Baron  de  Besenval,  the  commandant,  complains  of 
havinc-  been  left  without  orders  from  Versailles,  while 
he,  in  his  turn,  is  accused  of  having  spared  the  mob,  in 
the  hopes  that  they  would  spare  the  splendid  mansion 
which  he  had  lately  fitted  up  for  himself  in  the  most 
magnificent  style  ;  but  whatever  the  cause,  the  result 

10* 


114  TAKING    OF    THE    BASTILLE. 

waj,  that  nothing  was  done  to  stop  the  lawless  proceed- 
ings of  the  capital.  The  third  day  (July  14th,  1789) 
the  mob  attacked  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  where  they 
gained  possession  of  twenty-eight  thousand  muskets  and 
twenty  pieces  of  field  artillery,  and  thence  proceeded  to 
the  Bastille,  which  had  for  centuries  been  the  strong- 
hold of  despotism  and  the  dungeon  of  its  victims,  there 
to  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  the  innocent  governor 
and  the  garrison,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
Swiss  and  invalids,  and  there  to  surpass,  by  their  atro- 
cities, all  the  horrors  that  the  grim  old  walls  had  evei 
yet  witnessed.* 

The  governor,  De  Launay,  it  is  said,  had  received 
orders  from  Besenval  to  hold  out  until  the  evening  ;  at 
all  events,  the  commander  of  a  royal  fortress  surely 
could  not  be  expected  to  surrender  because  he  was 
called  upon  to  do  so  by  a  rebellious  mob  ;  but  the  time 
had  already  come  when  it  was  considered  high  treason 
against  the  nation  not  to  submit  to  and  take  a  part  in 
any  of  its  crimes ;  and  when,  after  a  protracted  resist- 
ance, and  having  in  vain  tried  to  blow  up  the  fort,  the 
gallant  governor  was  forced  to  surrender,  the  fury  of  the 
mob  was  at  its  height.  The  garrison,  though  it  had 
laid  down  its  arms,  was  with  difficulty  saved  from  ex- 
termination. A  young  and  beautiful  girl,  supposed  to 
be  the  daughter  of  De  Launay,  was  seized,  and  upon  the 
point  of  being  burnt  alive,  when  she  was  saved  by  the 
heroism  of  a  young  soldier.  Every  thing  that  was  val- 
uable within  the  fortress  was  destroyed ;  and  in  their 

*  It  is  melancholy,  that  when  we  have  to  record  the  destruRlion  of  a 
heartless  despotism  which  for  centuries  had  weighed  upon  a  suffering  peo- 
ple, that  the  acts  of  that  perple  should  be  such  that  the  sympathizing  heart 
sickens,  and  almost  steels  itself  against  the  woes  of  those  who  show  them- 
aelves  so  little  deserving  of  liberty.  But  so  it  is — the  morals  of  a  people 
and  its  governors  depend  mutually  upon  each  other,  and  go  on  acting  and 
reacting  in  one  unbroken  chain  of  cause  and  effect. 


DREADFUL   SCENES.  115 

blind  fury  the  mob  continued  to  fire  their  muskets  when 
there  were  no  more  enemies  to  attack,  and  thus  de- 
stroyed the  lives  of  many  of  their  comrades.  When  the 
work  of  destruction  was  terminated,  they  rushed,  shout- 
ing and  yelling,  towards  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  carrying  one 
of  the  French  guards,  crowned  with  laurel,  in  triumph  on 
their  shoulders,  while  the  keys  and  the  rules  of  Jie  Bas- 
tille were  borne  before  him  stuck  upon  a  pole.  At  the 
moment  that  they  penetrated  into  the  town-hall,  a  blood- 
stained hand  raised  above  the  multitude  presented  the 
buckle  of  a  shirt-collar,  belonging  to  the  governor  De 
Launay,  who  had  just  been  decapitated.* 

It  is  said  in  honor  of  the  French  guards,  who  had 
joined  the  people,  and  who  were  present  at  these  butch- 
eries, that  they  did  their  utmost  to  save  the  unhappy 
victims.  But  the  fury  of  the  mob  could  not  be  checked, 
and  their  thirst  for  blood  was  not  yet  satisfied.  Their 
next  victim  was  Flesselles,  the  provost  of  the  merchants, 
whom  they  accused  of  treason.  He  was  seized  in  the 
midst  of  the  frightened  electors  assembled  at  the  Hotel 
de  Ville,  and  dragged  away  to  the  Palais  Royal,  there 
to  be  judged  ;  but  the  impatience  of  the  miscreants 
would  not  wait  for  this  mockery,  and  he  was  struck 
dovvTi  by  a  shot  from  a  pistol  on  one  of  the  quays. 

While  these  scenes  of  riot  and  bloodshed  were  going 
on  at  Paris,  the  greatest  terror  and  anxiety  prevailed  at 
Versailles,  both  at  court  and  in  the  assembly.  The 
former,  in  hourly  fear  of  seeing  the  Paris  mob  moving 
towards  Versailles,  lined  the  road  between  the  two 
towns  with  troops,  and  did  every  thing  to  raise  the 
courage  and  ensure  the  fidelity  of  the  men,  without,  how- 
e\8T,  taking  any  decisive  step,  though  it  is  asserted  by 

*  It  is  said  that  his  head  was  cut  off  by  a  cook  who  was  preBeot  with 
his  kitchen-knife. 


116  RESOLUTIONS  OF  THE  ksSEMBLY. 

several  historians,  that  a  plan  was  concerted  for  putting 
down  the  Revolution  by  force  of  arms,  for  dissolving  the 
National  Assembly,  after  having  forced  it  to  subscribe 
to  the  king's  declaration  of  the  23d  of  June,  and  for 
assisting  the  empty  treasury  by  issuing  a  hundred  mil- 
lions of  government  notes. 

The  assembly  had  been  anxiously  watching  for  ac- 
counts from  the  capital ;  it  is  said  by  the  partisans  of 
the  Revolution,  who  maintain  that  the  assembly  had  been 
fully  aware  of  the  projects  of  the  court,  that  it  saw  new 
danger  to  itself  in  these  measures,  but  nevertheless  con- 
tinued its  sittings.  As  soon  as  it  had  received  intelli- 
gence of  the  events  of  the  12th,  a  deputation  was  sent  to 
the  king  to  demand  the  removal  of  the  troops,  whose 
presence  they  maintained  was  the  cause  of  all  the  tur- 
moil, and  begging  him,  in  their  stead,  to  form  a  burgess 
guard.  The  king  replied,  that  he  could  not  accede  to 
their  demands,  because  Paris  was  not  able  to  defend 
itself.  Upon  receiving  this  answer,  the  assembly  passed 
resolutions  insisting  upon  the  removal  of  the  troops,  and 
on  the  establishment  of  a  burgess  guard,  declaring  the 
.ministers  and  all  the  agents  of  the  government  responsi- 
ble, casting  upon  the  actual  counsellors  of  the  king,  how- 
ever elevated  their  rank,  the  whole  responsibility  of  the 
misfortunes  which  were  preparing.  It  consolidated  the 
national  debt,  and  persisted  in  all  its  former  decrees,  and 
then,  after  having  expressed  its  disapprobation  of  the  re- 
moval of  M.  Necker  and  his  colleagues,  declared  itself 
permanent,  and  elected  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette*  as  vice- 
president. 

*  This  young  nobleman  owed  his  popularity  to  the  part  lie  had  taken  in 
the  American  war,  where  he  had  gained  the  friendship  of  Washington  and 
the  respect  of  his  countrymen,  and  wlience  he  returned  witl]  ideas  of  liberty 
which  were  quite  in  consonance  with  the  popular  wishes  of  France  at  tlie 
time. 


SPEECH  OF  MIRABEAU.  117 

Upon  receiving  further  accounts  of  the  scenes  going 
on  at  Paris,  new  deputations  were  sent  to  the  king, 
which  equally  failed  in  eliciting  any  satisfactory  reply. 
The  king  was,  however,  now  seriously  alarmed,  though 
the  court  affected  to  laugh  at  the  pretensions  of  the  mob 
to  reduce  the  Bastille, — a  fortress  which  had  stood  the 
siege  of  the  great  (3onde  ;  and  when  at  last  the  Duke  de 
Liancourt,  one  of  the  deputies,  a  personal  friend  of  the 
king's,  and  who  held  a  situation  in  his  household,  which 
gave  him  access  to  his  person  at  all  times,  broke  into  the 
king's  bed-chamber  in  the  night  to  announce  the  fall  of 
the  Bastille,  a  general  consternation  prevailed.  "  What, 
a  revolt!"  exclaimed  his  majesty.  "  Not  a  revolt,  sire," 
replied  the  duke,  "  a  revolution."  He  prevailed  upon  the 
king  to  repair  to  the  assembly  th*  next  morning  to  give 
it  aproof  of  his  confidence.  But  in  the  interval  the  as- 
sembly, which  had  also  been  greatly  moved  at  the  ac- 
counts from  the  capital,  had  resumed  its  sitting,  and, 
ignorant  of  the  change  which  had  taken  place  in  the 
king's  disposition,  a  new  deputation  was  determined  on, 
and  was  on  the  point  of  departing  when  it  was  detained 
by  Mirabeau.  "  Tell  the  king,"  cried  he,  "  tell  him 
boldly,  that  the  hordes  of  foreigners  by  which  we  are 
surrounded  were  visited  yesterday  by  the  princes,  the 
princesses,  and  their  favorites,  and  have  received  their 
presents,  their  caresses,  and  their  exhortations.  Tell 
him,  that  during  the  whole  night  these  foreign  satellites, 
gorged  with  wine  and  money,  liave  predicted  in  their  in- 
pious  songs  the  subjugation  of  France,  and  that  their 
brutal  prayers  iavoked  the  destruction  of  the  National 
Assembly.  Tell  him,  that  even  in  his  own  palace,  his 
courtiers  have  danced  to  the  sound  of  this  barbarous  mu- 
sic, and  that  such  were  the  scenes  which  ushered  in  the 
St.  Bartholomew.     Tell  him,  that  Henry  IV.,  whose 


118  THE  KING  AND  THE  ASSEMBLY  RECONCILED. 

name  is  blessed  throughout  the  universe,  that  one  among 
his  forefathers  who  ought  to  be  his  model,  introduced  pro- 
visions into  rebellious  Paris,  besieged  by  himself,  and  that 
his  ferocious  counsellers  will  not  allow  that  corn  which 
commerce  brings,  to  enter  into  Paris  when  faithful  and 
famishing." 

But  scarcely  was  this  speech  pronounced,  and  the  ap- 
plause of  the  assembly  silenced  by  Mirabeau  himself, 
when  the  king  entered,  accompanied  by  his  two  brothers 
only,  and  in  a  simple  and  touching  speech  reassured  the 
assembly,  and  told  them  that  he  had  ordered  the  with- 
drawal of  the  troops.  "  You  have  doubted  me,"  he  said 
in  conclusion  ;  "  well,  then,  I  will  confide  myself  to  you." 
The  sullen  silence  with  which  he  had  been  received  was 
now  interrupted  by  lively  exclamations  of  joy,  and  the 
king  was  escorted  home  by  the  whole  assembly,  accom- 
panied by  the  shouts  of  the  multitude.  A  deputation  of 
one  hundred  members  then  repaired  to  Paris,  which  was 
preparing  to  withstand  a  siege,  to  announce  the  recon- 
ciliation of  the  king  with  the  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  was  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 
Bailly  and  Lafayette  were  among  the  delegates,  and  the 
former  was  offered  the  mayoralty  of  the  city,  the  latter 
the  command  of  the  burgess  guard.  Both  accepted,  and 
advised  the  king  to  follow  them  to  Paris,  to  put  the  seal 
to  his  reconciliation  with  his  people. 

The  king  consented,  and  fixed  the  17th  July  for  his 
visit.  The  state  of  Paris  became  every  day  more  alarm- 
ing. The  barriers  were  closed,  the  regular  authorities 
suspended,  the  streets  lined  with  patrols  and  cannon, 
while  hordes  of  murderers  carried  dismay  and  consterna-. 
tion  everywhere  ;  but,  notwithstanding  all  these  fearful 
manifestations,  the  king  remained  faithful  to  his  word. 
So  sure  was  he,  however,  of  not  returning  unscathed  from 


CONCESSIONS  OF  THE  KING.  119 

the  dangers  that  beset  his  path,  that  he  spent  great  part 
of  the  night  previous  to  his  departure  for  Paris  in  regula- 
ting the  regency,  and  early  in  the  morning,  after  attending 
religious  exercises,  took  an  affecting  leave  of  his  discon- 
solate family,  who  had  tried  in  vain  to  conquer  his  reso- 
lution. 

He  set  off,  accompanied  by  a  deputation  from  the  as- 
sembly, and  arrived  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  surrounded  by 
d  dark  and  threatening  multitude,  who  had  not  one  cheer 
for  the  monarch,  whose  chief  fault  was  that  weakness 
which  rendered  him  incapable  of  inflicting  pain  upon  oth- 
ers, though  for  their  benefit,  but  who  dared  to  encounter 
every  danger  which  threatened  his  own  person  alone.  It 
was  only  at  the  moment  when  the  king  appeared  at  the 
window  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  with  the  national  cockade 
in  his  hat,  that  the  slightest  cheer  was  heard  from  the 
mob.  After  having  confirmed  the  formation  of  the  na- 
tional guard,  and  of  the  provincial  and  municipal  govern- 
ment, in  a  word,  after  having  assented  to  the  revolution 
effected  by  physical  force,  he  returned  to  Versailles, 
where  his  safe  arrival  produced  the  greatest  joy. 

But  though  Louis  was  safe,  royalty  was  degraded,  and 
France  was  thenceforward,  for  years,  to  know  no  other 
rulers  than  an  infuriated  multitude.  Those  that  had  con- 
jured up  the  storm,  thinking  that  they  should  ride  as 
masters  upon  it,  and  lay  it  when  it  suited  their  purpose, 
now  perceived  that  the  fundamental  laws  of  a  state  can- 
not be  touched  with  impunity,  and  when  once  the  veil  is 
torn  from  the  sanctuary  of  the  temple,  all  reverence 
ceases  ;  that  the  law  of  the  land  cannot  be  violated,  and 
still  continue  to  be  effective. 

One  anecdote,  the  truth  of  which  has  never  been  con- 
tested, will  sufhce  to  show  what  was  the  state  of  Paris 
after  the  king  had  left.     Among  the  ministers  who  re- 


120  MURDER  OF  FOULON. 

placed  Necker  and  his  colleagues  was  a  M.  de  Foulon, 
who  is  described  as  being  hated  by  the  people  for  the 
heartless  levity  with  which  he  had  spoken  of  their  suf- 
ferings, at  a  time  in  which  they  were  complaining  that 
they  had  no  bread.  "  Let  the  canaille  eat  grass  and  this 
ties ;  it  is  good  enough  for  them,"  M.  de  Foulon  is  re- 
ported to  have  said,  and  the  people,  eager  to  grasp  at 
any,  however  absurd,  accusation  against  the  classes  that 
they  had  been  taught  to  hate,  marked  out  M.  de  Foulon 
as  the  object  of  universal  execration.  Foulon  being  fully 
aware  of  the  hatred  which  he  had  excited,  and  bemg  old 
and  weak,  fled  from  Versailles  on  the  15th  July,  took 
refuge  in  one  of  his  own  country-houses,  and  gave  out 
that  he  had  died  of  an  apoplectic  fit.  The  death  and 
funeral  of  one  of  his  servants  happened  very  opportunely 
to  give  a  semblance  of  truth  to  this  fiction,  but  soon  after 
the  ingenious  secret  was  betrayed,  and  the  old  man  was 
dragged  from  his  house  by  the  exasperated  villagers, 
who,  binding  his  hands,  and  placing  a  garland  of  nettles 
round  his  neck,  and  a  bouquet  of  thistles  in  his  breast, 
drove  him  before  them  to  Paris,  kicking  and  cursing  him 
all  the  way.  Arrived  at  Paris,  he  was  brought  before 
the  mayor  and  the  committee  of  electors,  sitting  at  the 
Hotel  de  Ville,  who  tried  in  vain  to  rescue  him  from  the 
mob,  by  persuading  the  people  that  the  more  guilty  he 
was,  the  more  necessary  it  was  that  he  should  be  tried 
by  the  laws. 

Law  was  a  powerless  word  in  the  mouth  of  those  who 
had  themselves  signed  the  death-warrant  of  the  laws 
of  the  realm,  and  the  impatient  mob  insisted  upon  carry- 
ing Foulon  to  the  Place  de  Gr^ve,  there  to  execute  jus- 
tice upon  him  at  their  favorite  lamp-post.  Resistance 
was  vain,  every  man  in  that  fierce  multitude  was  gasp- 
ing for  blood,  and  the  report  that  Necker  was  returning 


MURDER  OF  BERTHIER.  121 

to  Versailles,  and  had  recommended  a  general  anmesty, 
made  them  more  fearful  of  seeing  their  hopes  of  ven- 
geance frustrated.  And  to  the  Place  de  Gr^ve  they 
dragged  the  white-headed  old  rnan,  tied  a  rope  round  his 
neck,  and  hauled  him  over  the  lanterne.  Three  times 
the  rope  broke — three  times  the  miserable  sufferer  was 
precipitated  to  the  ground,  crying  for  mercy,  and  re- 
ceiving kicks  and  insults  in  reply.  When  at  last  life 
had  departed,  the  head  was  cut  off  and  stuck  upon  a 
pike,  and  while  some  paraded  this  through  the  streets, 
others  dragged  the  headless  trunk  after  them.  Or/  their 
way  they  met  a  mounted  escort,  and  a  crowd  of  people 
on  foot,  conducting  Foulon's  son-in-law,  Berthier,  who 
had  been  taken  prisoner  at  Compiegne,  to  the  Hotel  de 
Ville,  there  to  submit  to  a  kind  of  legal  interrogatory, 
which  was,  however,  again  interrupted  by  the  cries  of 
the  multitude  :  "  Finish  with  him,  the  Faubourg  St. 
Antoine*  is  coming !  The  Palais  Royal  is  coming ! 
They  will  have  his  head  !"  and  the  next  minute  the 
guard  which  Lafayette  had  placed  at  the  door  was  swept 
away,  and  the  hall  was  inundated  by  the  people,  who 
were  again  victorious,  in  spite  of  the  resistance  of  the 
authorities,  and  of  the  brave  slruDrales  of  Berthier  him- 
self.  Attempts  were  made  to  hang  him  on  the  same 
lamp-post  which  had  just  witnessed  the  death  of  his 
father-in-law,  but  he  struggled  so  fiercely  that  he  was 
pierced  by  several  bayonets  before  the  mob  could  ac- 
complish their  project.  It  is  said  that  even  before  life 
was  extinct,  one  of  these  vile  wretches  tore  the  heart 
from  his  panting  bosom,  and  the  mob,  then  rushing  back  to 
the  Hotel  de  Ville,  presented  it  to  Bailly  and  Lafayette. 
May  we  not    suppose  that   at   this,  and  other   similar 

*  The  Faubourg  gt.  Antoine  is  inliabited  by  the  worst  rabble  of  Paris. 
VOL.  I.  11 


122  EMIGRATION. 

fearful  sights,  which  now  daily  met  their  eyes,  the  con- 
science of  these  men  must  have  smote  them,  and  that 
they  must  have  asked  themselves,  who  it  was  that  had 
let  loose  these  bloodhounds,  who  it  was  that  had  con- 
verted the  brilliant  capital  of  a  civilized  country  into  a 
den  of  murderers  and  robbers  1  The  adherents  of  the 
ancient  state  of  things,  who,  on  their  side,  had,  by  obsti- 
nate and  interested  resistance  to  wholesome  and  timely 
reform,  contributed  so  greatly  to  bring  about  the  misfor- 
tunes under  which  they  were  now  suffering,  began  to 
fly  from  the  dangers  which  they  did  not  know  how  to 
meet,  and  the  king  and  queen,  nobly  sacrificing  their 
own  happiness  for  the  welfare  of  those  the}'^  loved,  per- 
suaded many  of  their  most  faithful  servants  to  leave 
France.  Several  princes  of  the  blood,  among  whom  the 
king's  unpopular  brother,  the  Comte  d'Artois,  also  left 
the  country,  and  from  that  period  the  tide  of  emigration 
may  be  considered  as  fairly  set  in,  and  every  day  saw 
the  peaceful,  the  lovers  of  order,  abandoning  their  coun- 
try and  their  king  to  the  lawless  hordes  who  were  now 
predominant,  and  seeking  in  foreign  lands  those  com- 
forts which  they  could  not  enjoy  at  home. 


RECALL  OF  NECKER.  133 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Recall  of  Necker — Inability  of  tlie  Assembly  to  govern — Disturbances 
throughout  France — Frightful  Atrocities  committed  by  t!ie  Peasantry — 
Proceedings  of  the  National  Assembly — Despoiling  of  the  Privileged 
Classes — Desecration  of  the  Churches — Dissent  of  the  King  useless — 
Declaration  of  Rights — The  Assembly  intimidated  by  the  Mob — State  of 
Paris — Dismal  Prospects  for  France — Military  Banquet — Dreadful  Tu- 
mult— The  ISIob  proceeds  to  Versailles — Deputation  to  the  King — The 
Palace  forced  by  the  Mob — Danger  of  the  Queen — The  Royal  Family 
taken  to  Paris. 

On  the  28fii  of  July,  Necker,  who  had  been  recalled 
in  accordance  with  the  desire  of  the  assembly  and  of  the 
people,  arrived  at  Versailles,  after  having  traversed 
France  accompanied  by  a  shonting  multitude,  who  hailed 
him  as  the  guardian  angel  of  the  country,  and  to  whom 
he  recommended  peace  and  order.  He  was  received  by 
the  king  with  embarrassment,  but  by  the  National  As- 
sembly, who  considered  his  recall  as  their  triumph,  he 
was  greeted  enthusiastically. 

At  Paris,  where  lie  may  be  said  to  have  enjoyed  a 
regular  ovation,  he  demanded  from  the  electors  and  the 
representatives  a  general  amnesty  ;*  which  was  imme- 
diately granted.  But  a  few  days  afterwards  the  amnesty 
was  revoked,  on  the  plea  of  its  being  illegal  for  an  ad- 
ministrative body  to  condemn  or  to  pardon  ;  for,  when  it 
served  their  purposes,  these  men  could  even  renounce 
the  power  of  the  moment. 

Besides  recalling  Necker,  the  king  had  chosen  his 
own  counsellors  from  among  the  majority  of  the  assem- 
bly, and  seemed  sincerely  inclined  to  follow  in  the  revo- 
lutionary movement.     But  calm  and  prosperity  did  not 

*  It  is  not  one  of  the  least  strange  anomalies  of  the  times,  to  see  the 
minister  of  the  king  of  France  appealing  to  a  revolutionary  body  for  a 
measure  which,  even  in  its  levolulionary  capacity,  it  was  incompetent  to 
erunt. 


124  EXCESSES  OP  THE  POPULACE. 

therefore  return  to  the  land.  Obedience  and  subordina- 
tion had  become  obsolete  terms  among  the  French,  and 
the  people,  having  once  seized  the  sceptre  of  power, 
were  determined  not  to  let  it  again  be  wrested  from  them. 
Paris  remained  in  a  state  of  the  utmost  agitation.  The 
electors  had  transmitted  their  functions  to  a  committee 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  administrators  elected  by  the 
several  districts.  But  this  new  municipal  government, 
having  no  laws  by  which  to  be  guided,  being  surrounded 
by  obstacles  of  every  kind,  and  having  to  attend  to  every 
thing :  to  the  administration  of  justice,  (as  far  as  that 
was  allowed  them  by  their  masters,  the  mob,)  to  the 
provisioning  of  the  town,  to  police  regulations,  and  army 
discipline,  succumbed  under  the  immensity  of  the  bur- 
den ;  while  the  national  guard,  commanded  by  Lafay- 
ette, was  equally  insufficient  to  maintain  order.  The 
provinces  had  followed  the  example  of  Paris,  and  seve- 
ral towns  had  demolished  the  fortresses  that  commanded 
them,  as  Paris  had  demolished  the  Bastille.  Suddenly 
the  report  was  spread  that  bands  of  brigands  were  trav- 
ersing the  country,  cutting  down  the  harvests,  and  de- 
stroying the  granaries.  The  whole  pojuilation  flew  to 
arms,  and  these  arms,  once  in  their  hands,  were  immedi- 
ately turned  against  their  fellow-citizens. 

The  peasantry  commenced  a  new  Jacquerie  against 
their  landlords  ;  they  laid  waste  their  property,  and  burnt 
down  their  houses,  taking  good  care  that  the  archives, 
containing  title-deeds,  &c.,  should  not  escape  the  flames, 
which  circumstance  seems  to  prove  that  the  peasantry 
had  among  them  advisers  better  versed  in  the  know- 
ledge of  law  than  they  themselves.  They  refused  to 
pay  their  taxes,  and  in  many  cases  committed  the  most 
outrageous  cruelties  against  their  masters — cruelties 
which  we  would  willingly  pass  over  in  silence,  were  it 


ATROCITIES.  125 

not  necessarj''  to  show  what  are  the  acts  of  a  people  who 
have  set  law  at  defiance,  and  what  is  the  retribution 
that  a  false  system  brings  upon  itself. 

One  gentleman,  the  owner  of  a  chfiteau,  was  sus- 
pended in  a  well  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  while  his  perse- 
cutors were  deliberating  upon  what  should  be  his  mode 
of  death.  Another,  the  Chevalier  d'Ambli,  was  dragged 
naked  through  the  village,  and  buried  in  a  dung-heap, 
after  his  eyebrows  and  hair  had  been  plucked  out  by  the 
roots,  the  mob  dancing  round  him  all  the  while.  In 
Normandy,  a  gentleman  afflicted  with  the  palsy  was 
thrown  into  the  fire,  and  only  escaped  with  the  loss  of 
his  hands.  A  gentleman's  steward  was  tortured  and 
burnt  until  his  feet  were  consumed,  to  make  him  srive 
up  his  master's  title-deeds.  But  it  was  not  men  alone  on 
whom  these  savages  exercised  their  fury.  In  Franche- 
Compte,  Madame  de  Batilly  was  almost  torn  to  pieces, 
and  was  forced  to  resign  all  claims  to  her  property, 
while  an  axe  was  held  suspended  over  her  head.  The 
Countess  of  Montessu  was  dragged  with  her  husband  from 
their  carriage  into  the  middle  of  the  road,  a  pistol  was 
held  at  her  breast  for  three  hours,  and  she  was  finally 
thrown  into  a  pond. 

Matrons  with  their  daughters  were  seen  flying  from 
their  burning  houses  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  with 
nothing  but  their  night-clothes  on,  too  happy  if  the  losa 
of  their  property  was  the  only  thing  they  had  to  bewail. 

Churches,  churchmen,  and  church  property  were  as 
little  spared  as  nobles  and  their  chateaux,  and  the  peo- 
ple, not  content  with  hating  the  clergy,  openly  proclaimed 
their  hatred  of  religion,  not  alone  in  their  deeds,  but  in 
words. 

While  the  people  were  thus  practically  showing  the 
sense  in  which  they  understood  liberty  and  the  rights  of 

11* 


126  RELINQUISHMENT  OF  PRIVILEGES. 

men,  the  members  of  the  National  Assembly,  not  re- 
awakened from  their  delusive  dreams  by  even  these 
fearful  realities,  were  busied  in  drawing  up  a  written 
declaration  of  the  rights  of  man,  which  was, to  serve  as 
the  basis  of  the  much-talked-of  constitution.  Some- 
times, indeed,  the  voice  of  reason  was  raised  to  suggest 
that,  under  existing  circumstances,  every  thing  that' 
could  add  new  fuel  to  the  fire  that  was  raging  without, 
ought  to  be  avoided ;  but  this  voice  was  soon  put  down 
by  the  clamors  from  the  galleries,  where  the  executive 
of  France,  the  rabble,*  sat  in  lordly  power,  controlling 
the  acts  of  its  servants.  There  is  in  the  spectacle  of 
the  assembly  at  this  time,  something  that  most  forcibly 
recalls  the  old  German  legends,  in  which  w^e  see  con- 
jurers ruled  and  tyrannized  over  by  the  evil  spirits  they 
have  themselves  invoked. 

On  the  4th  August,  1789,  a  vote  was  carried  that 
there  should  be  a  declaration  of  the  rights  of  man,  but 
on  that  same  day  arrived  such  overwhelming  tidings  of 
the  murders  and  ravages  of  all  kinds  which  were  bein^ 
perpetrated  throughout  the  country,  that,  seized  with  a 
sudden  panic,  the  members  of  the  privileged  classes, 
who  had  hitherto  sought  to  maintain  their  rights,  now 
vied  with  each  other  in  sacrificing  them  on  the  altar  of 
their  country,  as  it  was  termed.  The  Viscomte  de 
Noailles  gave  the  signal,  by  proposing  the  redemption 
of  feudal  rights,  and  the  suppression  of  personal  servi- 
tude. The  Duke  du  Chatelet  proposed  redeeming  all 
the  tithes  by  changing  them  into  a  pecuniary  tax.     The 

*  Though  I  use  the  word  rabble,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  these  as- 
semblages of  men  consisted  merely  of  those  wo  are  wont  to  denominate  by 
that  name  in  England.  But  I  use  this  word  because,  whatever  was  their 
position  hi  society,  the  deeds  of  those  men  were  such  as  to  leave  no  other 
designation  for  them.  One  cannot  apply  the  name  of  people  or  nation  to 
an  assembly  of  madmen  and  murderers,  be  their  numbers  ever  so  great. 


PROTEST  OF  THi;  ABRE  SIEVES.  127 

Bishop  of  Chartres  proposed  the  suppression  of  the  ex- 
clusive right  of  the  chase,  the  Count  of  Virien.  that  of 
pigeon-house  and  dove-cotes ;  others  the  abolition  of 
seignorial  jurisdictions,  the  venality  of  the  offices  of 
magistrates,  pecuniary  immunities,  and  inequality  of  im- 
posts ;  also  the  abolition  of  the  perquisites  of  the  cures  ; 
of  the  annats  of  the  court  of  Rome,  of  the  plurality  of 
benefices  ;  of  pensions  obtained  without  titles,  &c.  The 
deputies  of  the  pmjs  des  elais,  seized  next  by  this  phrensy 
for  self-sacrifice,  then  stood  up  to  renounce  the  privi- 
leges of  their  provinces,  and  were  followed  by  the  towns 
and  corporate  bodies,  all  offering  up  their  privileges. 
At  last,  the  assembly,  in  a  transport  of  enthusiasm,  pro- 
claimed Louis  XVI.  the  restorer  of  French  liberty,  and 
a  medal  was  struck  in  commemoration  of  this  day,  which 
a  witty  royalist  has  denominated  the  St.  Bartiiolomew 
of  property ;  and  there  were  not  a  few,  who,  participating 
in  this  opinion,  on  the  5th  of  August,  regretted  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  4th,  and  remonstrated  as  to  the  propriet} 
of  the  resolutions  passed  on  that  day.  The  Abbe  Sieyes 
himself,  who,  as  vicar-general  of  the  bishopric  of  Char- 
tres, and  canon  and  chancellor  of  the  cathedral  of  Char- 
tres, had  to  bear  a  great  many  of  the  sacrifices  which 
the  clergy  had  made,  was,  by  this  home-thrust  to  his 
pocket,  at  once  brought  back  to  common  sense,  and  he  de- 
clared that  the  proposition  to  abolish  tithes  altogether,  by 
which  the  declaration  that  the  tithes  should  be  redeem- 
able was  followed  up  on  the  morrow,  was  an  attempt  at 
wholesale  robbery.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  he 
pronounced  the  words  which  have  been  chosen  as  a 
motto  to  this  work.  He  was  answered  by  Mirabeau  in 
these  wo;ds:  "My  dear  Abbe,  you  have  let  loose  the 
bull,  and  now  you  are  complaining  of  his  giving  you  a 
touch  of  his  horns  ;"  and  so  indeed  it  was  ;  the  clergy 


128  OPPOSITION  OF  THE  KING. 

and  the  nobles,  those  who  had  acted  from  the  enthust- 
asm  of  the  moment,  as  well  as  those  who  had  given  way 
to  a  power  they  had  not  strength  to  resist,  now  felt  the 
dire  consequences  of  having  joined  a  chamber  composed 
of  twice  their  numbers,  and  mostly  consisting  of  men 
who  had  neither  interests  nor  property  at  stake.  All 
equilibrium  in  the  state  was  gone,  and  the  vessel  was 
fast  foundering.  But  that  there  was  still  dignity  of 
sentiment  left  in  the  conquered  minority,  we  may  see 
from  the  words  with  which  the  Arclibishop  of  Paris, 
seeing  that  resistance  was  useless,  surrendered  on  the 
6th  of  August,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  clergy,  all  the 
tithes  into  the  hands  of  the  nation.  "Let  the  Gospel," 
said  he,  "  be  preached  ;  let  divine  service  be  performed 
with  decency  and  dignity  ;  let  the  church  be  provided 
with  virtuous  and  zealous  pastors  ;  let  the  poor  be  suc- 
cored. This  is  the  true  destination  of  ouj  riches  ;  these 
are  the  objects  of  our  ministry  and  of  our  wishes;  for 
ourselves  personally  we  rely,  without  bargain  and  with- 
out reserve,  on  a  just  and  generous  nation."  But,  alas! 
the  nation  to  which  these  words  were  addressed,  was 
as  anxious  to  cast  oif  its  allegiance  to  its  God,  as  to  its 
authorities,  (indeed  how  could  it  be  otherwise,  for  who- 
soever fears  the  Lord  fears  the  law  ;)  and  the  churches 
so  nobly  resigned  to  its  care,  were,  in  a  few  short 
months,  shut  up,  or  converted  into  barracks,  storehouses, 
or  club-rooms,  and  the  most  conscientious  of  the  clergy 
persecuted  unto  death,  or  wandering  as  exiles  in  foreign 
lands. 

When  Louis  XVI.  heard  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
4th  August,  he  said  that  force  alone  should  make  him 
sanction  the  destitution  of  his  nobility  and  of  hi.<  clergy; 
"  For  when  I  cede,"  added  he,  "  there  will  be  in  France 
neither  monarch  nor  monarchy."     These  woi  Is  were 


DECLARATION  OF  RIGHTS.  129 

too  true,  and,  when  the  king  repulsed  the  decrees  pre- 
sented for  his  sanction,  the  assembly  nevertheless  adopt 
ed  them  as  constitutive,  and  declared  the  royal  sanctio? 
needless.     Nothing  was  left  to  the  king  but  to  promul 
gate  them. 

The  assembly  was  now  clearly  "divided  into  three  par- 
ties, which  were  generally  designated  by  the  place  they 
occupied  in  the  chamber.  The  right  was  the  party  of 
the  court,  the  nobles,  and  the  clergy,  and  their  orators 
were  Cazalis,.a  young  captain  of  dragoons,  and  the  Abbe 
Maury.  The  left  was  the  popular  party,  whose  most 
prominent  members,  besides  IMirabeau  and  the  Abbe 
Sieyes,  were  Barnave,  Lameth,  and  Duport,  a  young 
counsellor  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the  parlia- 
ment. The  centre  was  occupied  by  a  small  number  of 
the  popular  party,  who,  having  gone  as  far  as  they 
thought  right,  were  now  anxious  to  stop,  and  whose 
opinions,  in  accordance  with  Necker's,  called  for  the 
English  constitution.  The  most  remarkable  men  among 
these  were  Lally  Tollendal,  Mounier,  and  Mallouet. 

After  having  struck  down  with  one  blow  the  long- 
standing feudal  structure,  the  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple went  on,  seriously  occupying  themselves  with  the 
projected  declaration  of  the  rights  of  man,  which  did  not 
fail,  in  the  progress  of  discussion,  to  present  itself  to 
many  of  the  members  of  the  assembly  in  all  its  absur- 
dity.* 

*  "  I  remember  that  long  discussion  which  lasted  for  weeks,  '  says  an 
eyewitness,  ".as  a  season  of  mortal  ennui:  there  were  empty  disputations 
about  terms, — tliere  was  an  accumulation  of  metapliysical  rubbish,  and  an 
overpowering  loquacity, — the  as.-embly  seemed  converted  into  a  disputatious 
Bchool  of  Sorbonne,  and  all  the  apprentices  in  legislation  made  their  essays 
in  these  puerilities.  After  many  models  had  been  rejected,  a  committee  of 
five  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  new  one.  Mirabeau,  one  of  the  five,  had 
the  generosity  which  was  ordinary  to  him  to  take  the  whole  task  upon  him- 
self, and  then  give  it  to  his  private  friends  to  perform  it  for  him.  There  then 
we  were — Duroverai,   Claviere,   Mirabeau,  and  myself— composing,    dia- 


130  DEBATES  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY. 

But  the  word  had  been  pronounced,  and  the  rabble  in 
the  gallery  did  not  mean  to  give  up  the  hopes  which  the 
words,  "  All  men  are  born  free  and  equal,"  with  which 
this  declaration  was  to  be  headed,  held  out  to  them  ;  and 
alter  having  confused,  and  bewildered,  and  tired  each 
other  for  many  consecutive  days  with  vague  theories 
and  disputations,  a  declaration,  replete  with  contradic- 
tions and  inconsequences,  was  at  last  published,  and  pro- 
claimed in  the  first  days  of  September,  and  the  assem- 
bly then  proceeded  to  debate  on  the  form  to  be  given  to 
the  future  constitution.  According  to  the  instructions 
from  the  constituents  to  their  representatives,  which 
were  all  unanimous  in  demanding  a  representative  mon- 
archy, it  would  have  been  supposed  that  tlie  constitution 
of  England  would  have  presented  itself  to  all  minds  ; 
but  since  then  things  had  taken  a  different  turn,  and  in 
deeds,  if  not  in  words,  the  nation  had  already  passed 
from  absolute  monarchy  to  a  democratic  republic.  How 
was  it  to  be  supposed  that  a  house  of  lords  could  be  es- 
tablished, after  the  furious  scenes  we  have  seen  enacted 
against  the  nobility,  and  after  the  nobility  had  itself  re- 
nounced all  its  rights  ;  and  how  is  it  to  be  supposed  that 

puling,  writing  a  word  and  scratching  out  four  words,  exhausting  ourselves 
over  this  ridiculous  tusk,  and  producing  at  last  a  piece  of  p;itehwork,  a  mis- 
erable mosaic  of  tlie  pretended  natural  rights  of  men,  whicii  had  never  ex- 
isted. During  the  course  of  this  triste  compilation,  I  made  refiectiona 
which  I  ha<l  never  made  until  then.  1  felt  the  falseness  nnd  the  absurdity  of 
Uie  work,  wliich  was  notliing  but  a  puerile  fiction.  The  declaration  of 
rights,  paid  I,  may  be  made  after  the  constitution,  but  not  before  it;  for 
rights  exist  by  laws,  and  cannot  precede  them.  Such  m;ixims,  besides,  are 
dangerous.  We  ought  not  to  bind  legislators  by  general  propositions,  which 
we  may  afterwards  be  obliged  to  modify  and  limit.  Above  all  things,  we 
oughtnot  to  bind  ihem  by  false  maxims.  It  is  not  true  that  "  J311  men  are 
born  free  and  equal."  They  are  not  born  free.  On  the  contrary,  they  are 
born  in  a  state  of  helplessness  and  neces^ary  dependence.  And  where  are 
they  born  equal  ?  Where  can  Ihey  be  so  born?  Do  we  mean  equality  of 
fortune,  of  talent,  of  virtue,  of  industry,  of  condition  7  The  falsehood  ]a 
manifest.  Volumes  would  be  required  to  give  an  appearance  of  sense  to 
this  equality  which  you  proclaim  without  any  exception." — Dumont. 


DEBATES  OF  THE   ASSEMBLY.  131 

an  insane  people,  rioting  in  the  unlimited  possession  of 
power,  would  deliver  up  again  willingly  to  the  monarch, 
who  had  become  a  mere  puppet  in  their  hands,  the  scep- 
tre which  they  had  snatched  from  him  1  No  ;  anarchy 
was  let  loose,  and  was  not  to  be  bound  again,  before  the 
sins  of  those  who  had  invoked  it  had  brought  their  retri- 
bution of  sufferings  upon  their  heads,  and  therefore  were 
the  principles  that  were  laid  as  the  foundation  of  the 
new  constitution  those  of  the  Abbe  Sieves  :  "  The  peo- 
ple commands,  the  king  executes."  So  fully  were  these 
principles  adopted,  that  it  was  even  matter  of  long  dis- 
cussion v,'hether  the  kmg  should  have  an  absolute  or  only 
a  suspensive  ue/o;  during  which  discussion  the  people 
in  the  gallery,  though  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  meaning 
of  the  word,  continually  cried  out  a  has  le  vehu  merely 
because  it  was  something  that  was  to  be  granted  to  the 
king.  During  all  this  time,  however,  the  assembly 
went  on  professing  its  respect  and  affection  for  his  Ma- 
jesty, and  its  attachment  to  a  constitutional  monarchy, 
and  it  would  be  unjust  to  think  that  none  of  these  men 
were  sincere  ;  but  in  state  affairs  ignorance  is  crime,  and, 
therefoi-e,  whatever  may  have  been  their  intentions,  in 
point  of  fact,  every  one  of  them  was  guilty  of  the  down- 
fall of  the  French  monarchy.  It  was  at  length  deter- 
mined that  the  legislative  power  should  be  vested  in  a 
single  assembly,  that  this  assembly  should  be  permanent, 
and  that  it  should  alone  possess  the  power  of  proposing 
laws.  The  absolute  veto  was  still  warmly  maintained, 
but  the  people,  exasperated  at  the  thought  that  their  re- 
presentatives should  deliberate  upon  a  measure  which 
they  in  their  ignorance  had  put  down  as  connected  with 
every  kind  of  despotism  under  which  they  had  as  yet 
suffered,  began  to  make  most  violent  demonstrations. 
At  the  Palais  Royal  motions  were  made  against  the  as- 


133  ANARCHY. 

sembly ;  the  deputies,  who  still  adhered  to  the  king, 
were  threatened  with  being  recalled,  with  being  put  upon 
their  trial,  with  having  "  their  chateaux  lighted  up."  A 
general  convocation  of  the  districts  was  called  for,  and 
it  was  proposed,  and  even  attempted,  to  march  against 
Versailles.  Lafayette  tried  in  vain  to  arrest  the  multi- 
tude, bloody  frays  took  place  between  the  mob  and  the 
national  guards,  and  murmurs  were  raised  against  the 
despotism  of  the  bourgeois.  The  assembly  gave  way 
before  these  demonstrations,  and  a  majority  of  six  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  voices,  against  three  hundred 
and  fifteen,  voted  for  the  king  having  the  power  to  pro- 
nounce a  suspending  veto  only,  during  two  sessions  of 
the  legislature,  (21st  September,  1789.)  But  this  vote 
did  not  restore  order  and  tranquillity  to  the  capital,  where 
the  scarcity  of  provisions  was  daily  more  and  more  poi- 
gnantly felt,  and  where  every  vestige  of  authority  or  sub- 
ordination was  destroyed. 

The  municipality  had  to  send  to  distant  parts  of  the 
country  for  corn,  Avhich  was  sold  at  great  loss,  and  which 
was  obliged  to  be  brought  into  town  under  military  es- 
cort, to  escape  the  pillage  of  the  famished  country  peo- 
ple ;  and  while  the  people  were  in  this  state  of  suffer- 
ing, every"  day  brought  new  mortal  inquietudes  to  those 
who  still  bore  the  name  of  authorities.  Mayor  Bailly 
was  sinking  under  his  cares,  and  Lafayette  was  in  daily 
expectation  of  riots,  which  he  should  not  be  able  to  put 
down  ;  and  to  crown  the  whole,  the  sixty  districts  into 
which  the  capital  was  divided  took  the  character  of  sixty 
independent  republics,  each  giving  orders  in  opposition 
to  those  of  the  community,  had  its  own  police,  its  own 
armed  force,  which  entered  into  open  struggles  with 
those  of  the  community,  and  much  was  not  wanting  to 
make  them  break  out  into  open  warfare. 


MILITARY   BANQUET.  133 

Dull  and  dreary  were,  indeed,  the  prospects  of  France 
— anarchy  and  distrust  reigned  through  the  land.  The 
aristocracy  was  suspected  of  entertaining  projects  of 
vengeance  ;  the  princes  who  had  left  the  country  were 
supposed  to  be  seeking  the  succors  of  foreigners ;  the 
king,  who  had  merely  adopted  certain  articles  of  the 
declaration  of  rights,  saying,  that  he  could  not  sanction 
the  others  until  the  constitution  was  ready,  was  also 
looked  upon  with  distrust.  Reports  of  a  new  conspiracy 
of  the  court  against  the  people  were  generally  credited 
among  the  latter,  and  it  was  said  that  the  king  was  going 
to  fly  to  Metz,  and  to  march  an  army  against  Paris,  and 
that  the  queen  was  in  correspondence  with  the  Comte 
d'Artois,  and  with  her  brother  the  emperor  of  Germany. 
A  new  regiment  added  to  the  garrison  of  Versailles,  and 
two  thousand  body-guards  quartered  in  the  palace, 
occasioned  the  greatest  alarm,  and  the  Palais  Royal  de- 
creed that  the  king  ought  to  be  separated  from  those  who 
surrounded  him,  and  ought  to  be  brought  to  Paris,  where 
his  presence  would  ensure  a  sufficient  supply  of  provisions, 
and  would  accelerate  the  completion  of  the  constitution. 

A  banquet  given  on  the  3d  of  October  by  the  gardes 
du  corps  (body-guards)  to  the  officers  of  the  garrison  of 
Versailles,  gave  the  signal  for  scenes  more  atrocious 
than  any  of  those  which  had  as  yet  taken  place.  It 
was  said  that  the  king  and  queen  had  appeared  at  the 
banquet  amid  the  enthusiastic  cheers  of  the  officers  and 
guards,  and  that,  towards  the  end  of  the  repast,  the 
guests,  excited  by  the  wine  which  had  circulated  freely, 
had  trampled  the  national  cockade  under  their  feet,  in- 
sulted the  National  Assembly,  and  threatened  an  assault 
upon  Paris.  The  suspicions  against  the  court  were 
confirmed  by  these  reports,  and  it  was  said  that  a  plan 
was  laid  for  reducing  Paris  by  famine. 

VOL.  I.  12 


134 

The  people  assembled  in  great  masses  on  all  sides, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  October,  a  woman,  who 
had  taken  possession  of  a  drum,  traversed  the  streets, 
crying  out :  "  Bread  !  bread  !"  gathering  around  her 
thousands  of  her  own  sex,  (among  whom,  however,  it  is 
supposed  there  were  many  men  in  women's  clothes,) 
with  whom  she  proceeded  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  where 
they  made  a  desperate  attack ;  the  national  guards 
posted  at  the  entrance  giving  way  before  them,  they 
rushed  into  the  interior  of  the  building,  followed  by  men 
armed  with  pickaxes,  who  pillaged  the  armory.  When 
this  was  done,  Maillard,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  attack 
upon  the  Bastille,  cried  out,  "  Let  us  on  to  Versailles !" 
and  "  To  Versailles  !  to  Versailles  !"  was  echoed  on  all 
sides ;  and  the  hideous  assembly  set  itself  in  motion, 
carrying  with  it  wagons,  arms,  and  cannons,  and  re- 
cruiting their  numbers  with  all  the  women  they  met  on 
their  way. 

In  the  mean  time  the  representatives  of  the  commune 
had  arrived,  and  the  tocsin  had  called  together  the  na- 
tional guards,  but  the  love  of  anarchy  had  taken  such 
strong  possession  of  all  minds  that  there  was  no  peace- 
able set  of  citizens  to  appeal  to.  When,  therefore,  La- 
fayette exhorted  the  people  to  order,  a  grenadier  of  the 
national  guards  stepping  forward,  replied,  in  the  name 
of  his  comrades  :  "  The  people  are  unhappy — the  source 
of  their  misfortunes  is  at  Versailles — the  king  must  be 
brought  to  Paris — and  those  who  have  outraged  the  na- 
tional cockade  must  be  exterminated."  In  vain  did 
their  commander  represent  to  them  the  sufferings  that 
such  conduct  would  occasion  ;  new  shouts  of  "  To  Ver- 
sailles !"  was  all  the  reply  he  obtained,  and  the  mob 
moved  on.  Troops  of  savage  men  from  the  faubourgs 
had  already  joined  the  female  furies,  and  accompanied 


THE  MOB  AT  THE  PALACE-GATE.  135 

them  on  their  way,  uttering  the  most  fearful  impreca- 
tions and  threats  against  the  court  and  tiie  king,  but 
more  especially  against  the  queen,  whose  unpopularity 
had  gone  on  increasing  ever  since  the  commencement 
of  the  disorders.  After  eight  hours'  useless  resistance, 
Lafayette  at  last  prevailed  upon  the  municipality  to 
order  him  to  Versailles  with  his  guards,  and  he  set  out 
accompanied  by  two  of  its  members. 

The  greatest  consternation  prevailed  at  court  at  the 
news  of  the  extraordinary  army  which  was  approaching, 
and  which  was  descried  through  a  thick  fog  in  the  Paris 
avenue  between  five  and  six  in  the  afternoon. 

The  drums  immediately  beat  the  gcnerale,  the  iron 
gates  of  the  palace  yard  were  locked,  and  the  body 
guard  ordered  out  to  defend  them.  In  the  morning  the 
assembly  had  sent  a  deputation  to  the  palace,  to  demand 
the  "  pure  and  simple"  acceptation  of  the  declaration  of 
rights,  which  being  refused,  had  given  rise  to  loud  mur- 
murs of  discontent,  which  ended  in  a  general  denun- 
ciation of  the  court,  and  particularly  of  the  banquet  giv- 
en by  the  guards.  In  the  midst  of  this  tumult  news 
was  brought  to  the  assembly  of  the  approach  of  the 
mob,  and  towards  four  o'clock,  when  they  were  in  the 
act  of  breaking  up,  hordes  of  women  rushed  mto  the 
room  with  loud  cries.  Maillard,  who  was  at  their  head, 
harangued  the  assembly,  exposed  the  misery  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  vaguely  accused  persons  of  high  standing  of 
having  brought  about  the  scarcity  by  foul  means.  After 
having  in  vain  attempted  to  appease  this  vociferous  mul- 
titude, the  assembly  (hoping  to  force  the  king  at  this 
critical  juncture  to  subscribe  to  their  wishes)  at  last  de- 
termined to  depute  the  president  Mounier  to  the  king  to 
submit  to  him  the  declaration  of  rights,  but  they  were 
obliged  to  allow  twelve  women  chosen  by  the  mob  to 


136  ARRIVAL  OF  LAFAYETTE. 

accompany  him.  The  king  received  them  with  his 
visual  kindness,  gave  orders  that  provisions  (the  want  of 
which  was  the  excuse  for  every  riot)  should  be  taken  to 
Paris,  and  promised  to  accept  unconditionally  the  de- 
claration of  rights.  But  during  this  time  the  mob  with- 
out, growing  impatient,  attacked  the  body-guards,  who, 
however,  persevered  in  strictly  maintaining  the  defen- 
sive, until,  upon  the  king's  order,  they  withdrew  to  their 
quarters,  pursued  and  shot  at  by  the  Versailles  militia, 
though  they  did  not  return  a  single  shot.  The  court 
was  in  the  greatest  agitation,  and  a  council  was  held  to 
decide  whether  the  king  should  fly  or  remain.  The  car- 
riages were  even  ordered  to  the  door,  but  the  traces 
having  been  cut  by  the  national  guards  of  Versailles,  the 
king,  who  was  very  unwilling  to  take  any  extreme  meas- 
ures, signed  his  acceptance  of  the  declaration  of  rights, 
and  decided  upon  remaining,  in  order  not  to  give  way,  it 
is  said,  before  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  was  strongly 
suspected  of  being  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  riots  and  dis- 
orders. But  the  fact  of  the  assembly's  having  chosen 
the  moment  of  confusion  for  pressing  upon  the  king  the 
declaration  of  rights,  certainly  leaves  very  great  room 
for  suspicions  as  to  the  part  it  may  have  had  in  this  tu- 
multuous rising. 

After  the  king  had  refused  to  leave  Versailles,  it  was 
proposed  that  the  queen  at  least  should  remove  with  her 
children  to  Rambouillet,  a  palace  eight  miles  from 
thence  ;  but  she  steadily  refused  to  leave  the  king  while 
he  was  in  danger,  and  said,  that  if  the  mob  wished  for 
her  death,  she  knew  how  to  confront  it. 

In  the  mean  time  night  had  broken  in,  and  the  clamors 
of  the  savage  multitude  against  the  queen  and  the  aris- 
tocrats spread  terror  and  dismay  through  the  court.  At 
midnight  the  arrival  of  Lafayette  and  the  Parisian  army 


IRRUPTION  INTO  THE  PALACE.  137 

was  announced.  The  commander  immediately  present- 
ed himself  before  the  king,  together  with  the  two  depu- 
ties from  the  municipality,  to  assure  his  majesty  of  the 
fidelity  of  the  national  guards  at  Paris,  and  to  express  to 
him  the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  town,  which 
were  to  the  effect,  that  he  should  allow  himself  to  be 
guarded  by  the  militia  alone, — that  he  should  find  means 
of  assuring  the  subsistence  of  the  people, — that  he  should 
remove  to  the  capital,  and  hasten  the  conclusion  of  the 
constitution.  The  king  answered  evasively  to  the  last- 
mentioned  proposals,  but  acceded  to  Lafayette's  entreat- 
ies to  be  allowed  to  replace  the  troops  of  the  line,  who 
defended  the  palace,  by  his  guards,  part  of  which  was 
composed  of  the  former  French  guards.  About  two 
o'clock  every  thing  seemed  comparatively  quiet,  when 
Lafayette  persuaded  the  royal  family,  as  well  as  the 
members  of  the  assembly,  to  take  a  little  rest ;  but  the 
sounds  which  reached  them  from  the  public  houses,  in 
which  the  mob  had  sought  shelter  from  the  pelting  rain, 
or  from  the  fires  round  which  bivouacked  those  who 
could  find  no  other  refuge,  gave  them  sufficiently  to  un- 
derstand that  this  quiet  could  not  be  of  long  duration. 

At  five  o'clock  Lafayette  threw  himself  on  his  bed  to 
seek  rest,  and  at  six  o'clock  a  violent  attack  was  made 
upon  the  body-guards.  Many  of  them  were  killed ; 
those  who  endeavored  to  escape  were  pursued  like  wild 
beasts,  and  fifteen  having  been  seized  were  taken  before 
the  palace  and  there  murdered.  The  main  body  of  the 
rioters  then  rushed  upon  the  palace,  and  penetrated  into 
the  interior,  shouting  and  indulging  in  the  grossest  in- 
vectives against  the  king  and  the  queen,  wlio,  v.  arned 
only  just  in  time  by  one  of  the  faithful  guards,  who  lost 
his  life  in  the  prosecution  of  his  duty,  had  just  escaped 
from  her  bed-chamber,  when  a  party  of  the  assassins 

12* 


138  THE  QUEEN. 

rushing  in,  advanced  towards  the  bed  with  uplifted  spike 
ready  to  strike  the  fatal  blow. 

In  the  mean  time  the  body-guards  having  rallied  after 
the  first  surprise,  and  being  assisted  by  the  paid  compa- 
nies of  the  national  guard,  succeeded  in  repelling  the  as- 
sailants from  the  palace  ;  and  upon  Lafayette's  arrival 
some  kind  of  order  was  restored. 

But  the  crowd  before  the  palace  continued  to  vocife- 
rate, "The  king  must  go  to  Paris,"  and  Lafayette 
having  depicted  in  the  most  frightful  colors  the  dangers 
of  a  refusal,  Louis  XVL  again  putting  on  the  so-called 
national  cockade,  the  badge  of  rioters  and  murderers, 
presented  himself  at  the  balcony  once  more  to  degrade 
himself  before  the  mob,  and  to  declare  himself  their 
humble  slave.  He  was  received  with  shouts  of  "  Vive 
le  roi,^''  but  the  queen's  name  was  again  mentioned,  ac- 
companied by  threats  and  invectives.  According  to  the 
accounts  of  the  royalists,  this  princess  (who  from  the 
commencement  showed  a  courage  and  a  greatness  of 
soul  of  which  we  cannot  but  regret  the  want  in  her  hus- 
band) appeared  upon  the  balcony  holding  the  dauphin 
by  the  one  hand  and  the  princess  royal  by  the  other. 
But  voices  crying  out  "  No  children  !"  the  prince  and 
princess  were  sent  in,  and  the  queen  stood  in  all  the  ma- 
jesty of  her  beauty,  calnaly  casting  her  eyes  upon  the  as- 
sembled multitude,  whi^h,  struck  with  admiration,  burst 
into  exclamations  of  applause. 

According  to  other  accounts,  the  queen  appeared  on 
the  balcony  accompanied  by  Lafayette,  who,  being  una- 
ble to  make  himself  heard,  respectfully  kissed  her  ma- 
jesty's hand,  to  make  known  the  reconciliation  which 
had  taken  place. 

The  storm  now  gradually  subsided.  Early  in  tho 
morning  the  king  had  proposed  to  the  assembly  to  trans- 


PROCESSION  TO  PARIS.  139 

fer  its  sittings  to  the  palace,  in  order  to  ensure,  by  its 
presence,  the  safety  of  the  royal  family.  But  this  propo- 
sition had  been  rejected,  and  a  deputation  only  of  thirty- 
six  members  sent  to  the  palace.  When,  however,  the 
king  had  determined  to  go  to  Paris,  in  accordance  with 
the  wishes  of  the  people,  the  National  Assembly  decreed 
that  the  person  of  the  king  was  inseparable  from  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  people,  and  that  a  deputation  of  one 
hundred  members  should  accompany  him. 

The  first  bands  of  the  mob  had  already  moved  towards 
Paris  to  announce  their  victory,  carrying  with  them  the 
heads  of  two  body-guards  who  had  shown  the  greatest 
valor  in  defending  their  royal  master.  They  arrived  at 
twelve  o'clock,  but  were  dispersed  by  a  detachment  of 
guards  sent  after  them  by  Lafayette.  Two  hours  later 
arrived  the  commencement  of  a  cortege,  the  end  of  which 
only  entered  Paris  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  which  for 
strangeness  and  wildness  has  probably  never  been  equal- 
led. First  came  the  regiment  of  Flanders,  the  Swiss, 
and  the  artillery.  Then  wagons  loaded  with  ragged 
women  and  drunken  men,  streaming  with  tri-colored 
ribands,  and  singing  obscene  songs.  These  were  fol- 
lowed by  sixty  wagon-loads  of  corn,  after  which  came 
the  national  guard,  interspersed  with  women  armed  in 
the  most  grotesque  way  with  the  weapons  and  helmets 
of  the  murdered  guards,  men  of  a  wild  and  savage  ap- 
pearance, and  disarmed  body-guards.  After  them  came 
the  National  Assembly  on  horseback  or  in  carriages, 
then  the  carriages  of  the  royal  family,  to  whom  this 
journey  had  been  one  continued  scene  of  insult  and  of 
horror,  surrounded  by  detachments  of  the  depraved 
hordes  that  had  visited  Versailles.  The  whole  was 
closed  by  wagons  containing  flour  and  luggage. 

To  all  that  was  hideous  to  the  eye  and  lacerating  to 


140  THE  KING  AT  THE  TUILERIES. 

the  heart  in  this  scene,  was  added  all  that  is  offensive 
to  the  ear.  Among  obscene  songs,  frightful  threats, 
and  still  more  frightful  exclamations  of  joy,  were  heard 
shouts  of,  "  We  shall  no  longer  starve,  we  are  bringing 
the  baker,  the  baker's  wife,  and  the  baker's  boy." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Emigration  of  many  of  the  Deputies — The  National  Assembly  holds  its  Sit- 
tings at  the  Tuileric'S — Martial  Law  Proclaimed — Formation  of  the  New 
Constitution — Financial  Embarrassments — Extraordinary  Proposition  of 
Necker — Supported  by  Mirabeau — Appropriation  of  the  Property  of  the 
Church — Assignats — State  of  Parties—  The  Clubs. 

After  the  king  had  taken  up  his  abode  at  the  Tuiler- 
ies  some  kind  of  outward  tranquillity  was  for  a  time  re- 
established, for  even  the  furious  mob  could  not  refrain 
from  acknowledging  his  sincere  desire  to  do  all  the  good 
he  could  ;  but  the  immense  number  of  emigrations*  which 


*  No  less  than  three  hundred  deputies  demanded  foreign  passports  after 
the  scene  of  the  5th  and  6th  October,  and  among  them  were  two  of  the 
most  moderate  and  most  sincere  members  of  the  assembly,  Mounier  and 
Lally  Tollendal,  the  latter  of  whom  has  left  upon  record,  in  the  subjoined 
letter,  the  feelings  of  horror  with  which  he  viewed  the  ruthless  deeds  of 
those  who  dared  to  deck  themselves  with  the  name  of  patriots,  and  at  the 
same  time  it  gives  a  vivid  description  of  the  scenes  we  have  just  sketched. 
.  .  .  .  "  But  let  us  speak  of  the  resolution  which  I  have  taken  ;  I  can  per- 
fectly justify  it  to  my  conscience.  Neither  that  guilty  city,  nor  that  still 
more  guilty  assembly,  deserve  that  T  should  justify  myself  to  them  :  but  I 
am  desirous  that  you  and  those  who  think  like  you,  should  not  condemn 
me.  1  swear  to  you  that  the  state  of  my  health  rendered  it  impossible  for 
me  to  attend  to  my  business,  but  even  without  considering  my  functions,  it 
was  beyond  my  power  any  longer  to  support  the  horror  which  I  felt  at  the 
eight  of  that  blood — those  heads — that  queen  almost  murdered — that  king 
carried  along  like  a  slave,  surrounded  by  assassins,  and  preceded  by  the 
heads  of  his  unfortunate  guards.  Those  perfidious  janizaries — those  assas- 
sins— those  cannibal  women — that  cry  of  Jill  the  bishops  to  the  lamp-post,  at 
the  very  moment  when  the  king  was  entering  Paris,  with  the  bishops  be- 
longing to  his  council  in  his  carriage — a  musket  which  I  saw  discharged  at 
the  queen's  carriage ;  M.  Bailly  calling  that  a  happy  day.  The  a.ssembly 
baving  declared  in  the  morning  that  it  was  below  its  dignity  to  go  in  a  body 


THE  NATIONAL  ASSEMBLY  AT  PARIS.  141 

Wok  place  at  this  period,  shows  that  minds  were  nowise 
at  rest,  and  that  greater  disorders  were  expected  to  fol- 
low. And  indeed  how  could  it  be  otherwise,  while  the 
assembly  continued  its  work  of  destruction,  while  the 
chief  of  the  state  was  but  a  prisoner  and  a  puppet  in  the 
hands  of  his  subjects,  and  while  there  was  not  in  the 
state  one  power  to  resist  the  brute  force  which  the  mob 
had  learned  so  well  how  to  use,  and  which  was  ever  at  the 
command  of  such  men  as  Camille  Desmoulins,  Marat, 
jL.:id  others,  who  knew  the  secret  of  exciting  ignoble 
passions,  and  were  not  ashamed  of  availing  themselves 
of  it. 

Thirteen  days  after  the  king's  arrival  in  Paris,  he  was 
followed  by  the  whole  of  the  National  Assembly,  which 
installed  itself  first  in  the  Archbishop's  palace,  and  after- 
wards in  the  Salle  de  Manege,  in  the  Tuileries,  and 

to  remain  with  the  king,  M.  Mirabeau  saying,  with  impunity,  in  the  assem- 
bly, that  the  vessel  of  state,  far  from  being  retarded  in  its  course,  would 
proceed  more  rapidly  than  ever  towards  its  regeneration.  M.  Barnave 
laughing  with  him,  while  floods  of  hluud  flowed  around  us.  The  virtuous 
Mounier,  escaping  by  a  miracle  from  twenty  assassins  who  wished  to  add 
his  head  to  their  other  trophies.  These  are  the  things  that  made  me  swear 
never  again  to  put  my  foot  into  that  den  uf  cannibals,  (the  National  Assem- 
bly,) where  I  had  no  more  strength  to  raise  my  voice,  and  where  for  six 
weeks  I  had  raised  it  in  vain.  The  only  thing  which  was  left  for  Mounier^ 
myself,  and  other  honest  men  to  do,  was  to  leave  it.  No  feehng  of  fear  has 
actuated  me.  1  would  blush  to  deny  it  if  it  were  so.  I  have  even  received, 
on  my  route,  applause  and  acclamations  from  that  people  which  is  even 
less  guilty  than  those  who  have  roused  its  evil  passions  :  but  that  applause, 
those  acclamations,  which  might  have  flattered  others,  made  me  shudder. 
It  is  before  my  indignation,  before  the  horror,  before  the  pyhsical  convul- 
sions which  the  sight  alone  of  all  that  blood  caused  me,  that  I  have  given 
way.  One  may  brave  death  once,  one  may  even  brave  it  many  times,  if  it 
is  needed,  but  no  power  under  the  heavens,  no  opinion,  either  public  or  pri- 
vate, has  the  right  to  condemn  me  to  suffer  uselessly  a  thousand  deaths  in 
every  minute — to  condemn  me  to  die  of  despair  and  rage  in  the  midst  of  the 
triumphs,  of  the  crimes,  which  I  have  been  unable  to  prevent.  They  will 
banish  me,  they  will  confiscate  my  property.  I  will  dig  the  earth  for  my 
bread,  may  I  only  not  see  them  again.  This  is  my  justification ;  you  may 
read  it,  show  it,  copy  it:  so  much  tlie  worse  for  those  who  cannot  under- 
stand it;  but  I  HJiall  not  he  wrong  for  having  given  it  to  them." — E.xtracl 
of  a  Letter  from  M.  Lally  'J'oUendal,  to  a  friend. 


142  MARTIAL  LAW. 

commenced  a  kind  of  inquiry  into  the  proceedings  of  the 
people,  which,  however,  resulted  in  nothing  more  than 
the  temporary  banishment  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  whom, 
though  nothing  was  proved  against  him,  and  though  a 
prince  of  very  little  talent  or  capacity  of  any  kind,  it  has 
served  the  purpose  of  different  parties  to  designate  as 
the  instigator  of  all  the  atrocious  acts  which  blot  the  an- 
nals of  those  times.  The  assembly  then  resumed  its 
constitution-making,  but  was  soon  interrupted  again  by 
new  riots,  occasioned  by  the  renewed  scarcity  of  provis- 
ions; and  being  now  in  the  midst  of  the  danger,  and  hav- 
ing learned  that  its  members  were  nowise  considered  sa- 
cred bjf  the  people,  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  take 
strong  measures  of  defence,  and  martial  law  was  pro- 
claim.ed  in  Paris.  By  this  law  the  municipalities  were 
made  responsible  for  the  public  tranquillity  ;  in  case  of 
riots  they  were  empowered  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the 
troops  or  of  the  militia ;  and  after  three  warnings,  were 
ordered  to  employ  force  against  seditious  assemblies. 
This  law  was  not  passed  without  opposition,  particularly 
from  Robespierre,  deputy  of  Arras,  who  having  also  be- 
come ambitious  of  power,  courted  the  suffrages  of  the 
mob,  w^hich  it  required  no  great  genius  to  see  was  at 
that  moment  its  sole  dispenser.  Still  this  time  order 
was  triumphant  in  the  assembly,  the  members  of  which 
in  truth  began  to  feel  rather  uneasy  at  the  chaos  around 
thenp   out  of  which  they  had  to  create  a  new  world. 

One  cannot  but  think  that  at  this  juncture,  even  among 
these  men,  most  of  whom  affected  to  be  free-thinkers, 
there  must  have  been  a  vague  feeling  that  such  power 
belongs  to  the  Almighty  alone,  and  that  man,  if  he  wants 
to  build,  must  have  something  to  build  upon,  were  that 
something  even  but  a  mud  bank,  or  a  fetid  swamp  ;  and 
that  he  who  destroys  the  foundation,  and  attempts  to 


SPOLIATION   OK  THE  CLERGY.  143 

build  upon  the  vacuum  it  leaves,  is  but  a  madman  or  a 
knave.  But  should  even  this  gleam  of  truth  have  forced 
itself  upon  them,  they  had  no  longer  the  power  of  retra- 
cing their  footsteps;  the  impulse  was  given,  faith  was 
destroyed,  and  human  arrogance  had  taken  its  place. 

Thus  though  recourse  was  had  to  soiiicof  the  ancient 
institutions  of  the  country,  such  as  the  court  of  the  Cha- 
telet,  to  inquire  into  and  put  a  stop  to  the  disorders  that 
were  daily  l„\-lng  place,  the  assembly  at  the  same  time 
went  on  with  its  work  of  destruction.  It  had  abolished 
the  feudal  system,  but  there  was  another  body  in  the 
state,  with  ancient  rights  and  ancient  authority,  which 
had  as  yet  not  been  wholly  divested  of  these.  "  The 
clergy  possessed  property.  They  had  received  it  from 
princes  under  the  name  of  feudal  gratifications,  and  from 
the  faithful  under  the  title  of  legacies.  If  the  property 
of  individuals,  the  fruit  and  reward  of  labor,  ought  to 
be  respected,  that  which  had  been  bestowed  on  a  body 
of  men  on  conditions  altogether  different,  ought  to  yield 
to  the  empire  of  the  law.  It  was  for  the  service  of  re- 
ligion they  had  been  given,  or  at  least  under  this  pretext, 
but  religion  being  a  public  service,  the  law  might  provide 
means  of  accomplishing  this  object  in  any  way  deemed 
most  advantageous  to  the  public  interest."*  The  Abbe 
Maury  on  this  occasion,  as  Abbe  Sieyes  on  a  previous 
one,  stood  up  in  defence  of  the  clergy,  and  pointed  out 
the  peril  to  all  property,  if  such  a  measure  were  carried. 
But  Mirabeau,  who  had  replied  to  Abbe  Sieyes  by  a  bon 
mot,   now   decided  the  hesitating  assembly  by  a  play 

*  Thiers.  M.  Thiers  follows  up  this  passage  by  saying  that  th»;  assem- 
bly, by  taking  possession  of  the  property  of  tlie  clergy,  secured  to  itself 
those  immense  financial  resources  which  so  long  supported  the  Revolution. 
These  were  then  "  the  services  of  religion  which  the  law"  thought  proper 
to  substitute  for  tliose  to  wiiich  it  was  applied  by  the  clergy.  What  law  ia 
Uo  1  What  religion  ■?    What  do  these  men  understand  by  law  and  religion  1 


144  FRANCE  DIVIDED  INTO  DEPARTMENTS. 

upon  words.  He  suggested  that  instead  of  saying  that 
the  property  of  the  clergy  belonged  to  the  state,  they 
should  say  that  it  was  at  the  disposal  of  the  state,  and  the 
discussion  was  immediately  terminated  by  a  great  ma- 
jority in  favor  of  the  measure.  In  the  mean  time  the 
constitution  began  by  degrees  to  rise  on  the  foundation 
which  had  been  laid  on  the  4th  of  August,  and  the  reso- 
lutions passed  on  that  memorable  night,  became  the 
starting-point  of  a  political  organization,  in  which  par- 
ticular existences,  either  of  individuals  or  of  institutions^ 
were  to  disappear  in  the  national  unity.  "  It  was  ne- 
cessary first  to  produce  this  unity  in  the  land,  by  doing 
away  with  those  provinces  which  still  seemed  to  be  but 
so  many  different  nations  which  the  dynasty  of  the  Ca- 
pets had  gathered  together,  without  confounding  them  in 
the  monarchial  unity.  A  decree  akolished  the  division 
of  the  kingdom  into  provinces,  and  divided  France  into 
eighty-three  departments,  almost  equal  in  population  and 
extent,  and  which  were  subdivided  into  districts,  cantons, 
and  communes.  This  division  took  into  account  neither 
local  customs,  local  traditions,  nor  local  existences  ;  the 
surface  of  the  land  was  taken  as  its  only  basis  ;  the  prov- 
inces were  deprived  of  their  privileges,  their  parliaments, 
and  their  separate  administrations  ;  even  their  historical 
names,  which  recalled  to  the  mind  thoughts  of  independ- 
ence, were  blotted  out,  and  new  names,  derived  from 
the  physical  construction  of  the  soil,  announced  that 
there  were  no  more  dutchies,  no  pays  d^eiats,  no  Bretons, 
no  Proven^aux ;  there  were  only  France,  and  French- 
men. This  was  the  chief  work  of  the  assembly  ;  it  com- 
pleted the  destruction  of  the  feudal  system,  broke  for- 
ever the  chain  of  olden  times,  commenced  the  era  of 
new  social  systems,  and  united  all  the  strength  of  the 
state  in  one  powerful  centralization ;  in  a  word,  it  waa 


FRANCE  DIVIDED  INTO  DEPARTMENTS.  145 

the  constitutive  act  of  the  national  unity,  which  had 
been  prosecuted  with  so  much  perseverance,  since  the 
time  of  Hugh  Capet,  and  thus  attained  after  eight  cen- 
turies of  struggles."* 

The  whole  political  system  was  harmonized  with  the 
departmental  division,  and  for  this  end  the  administra- 
tion of  the  departments  was  confided  to  a  council  of 
thirty-six  members,  and  to  an  executive  directory  of 
five  members  ;  the  districts  had  similar  authorities  sub- 
ordinate to  those  of  the  department,  and  the  commune 
was  directed  by  a  council  and  a  municipality,  which  was 
again  subordinate  to  the  authorities  of  the  district.  This- 
was  the  material  basis  of  the  new  system ;  the  moral 
basis  was  the  election  of  all  these  authorities  by  the 
people.  The  acting  citizens,  that  is,  all  those  who  paid* 
a  contribution  of  the  value  of  three  days'  work,  (one- 
mark  of  silver,)  chose  from  among  the  citizens  who  paict 
a  contribution  of  one  hundred  and  fifty,  or  two  hundred 
days'  work,  electors,  who  in  their  turn  nominated  the 
deputies  for  the  National  Assembly,  the  administrators 
of  the  department,  of  the  district,  and  of  the  commune,, 
and  the  judges,  the  bishops,  and  the  curates.  The  par- 
liaments were  abolished,  and  in  their  stead  three  new 
orders  of  tribunals  erected,  whose  members  were  elect- 
ed, and  only  temporary  :  there  was  a  criminal  tribunal 
for  every  department,  a  civil  tribunal  for  every  district,, 
and  a  justice-of-peace  for  every  canton.  Besides  these,. 
a  supreme  court  was  established,  charged  with  the  func- 
tions of  watching  over  and  preserving  the  judicial  forms. 
Trial  by  jury  was  admitted  in  criminal  cases  only. 

*  Lavall6e.  I  give  this  description  in  the  words  of  a  French  writer,  be- 
cause though  he  is  by  no  means  one  of  the  most  immoderate  of  the  partisana 
of  the  Revolution,  they  convey  the  spirit  in  which  these  clianges  were  UBn 
dertaken,  and  tlie  way  '.n  wliich  Frenchmen  of  our  day  account  for  the  tec 
bors  of  the  Natiopal  Assembly. 

VOL,.  I.  13 


146  EXTRAORDINARY  CONTRIBUTIONS. 

In  order  to  give  a  clearer  conception  of  the  new  con- 
stitution which  the  assembly  prepared  for  France,  I  have 
somewhat  anticipated  the  date  ;  for  all  these  regulations 
■were  not  at  once  established,  and  by  degrees,  as  they 
were  decreed,  they  awoke  new  resistances,  and  brought 
out  more  decidedly  the  different  parties  in  the  state,  so 
that  between  the  contests  of  the  supporters  of  the  old 
order  of  things,  and  the  enactors  of  the  new,  general 
confusion  prevailed,  and  even  those  earnestly  inclined 
to  submit  to  whatever  were  the  rules  of  the  kingdom, 
were  embarrassed  what  part  to  take. 

The  passing  of  the  decree  (2d  December,  1789)  which 
put  the  assembly  in  possession  of  the  property  of  the 
clergy,  was  perhaps  greatly  accelerated  by  the  extraor- 
dinary financial  embarrassments  which  impeded  the 
march  of  the  revolution.  The  assembly  had  from  time 
to  time  suspended  its  legislative  discussions,  to  satisfy 
the  most  urgent  wants  of  the  treasury,  and  had  adopted, 
almost  without  discussion,  the  provisional  means  pro- 
posed by  Necker.  But  a  loan  of  thirty  millions,  decreed 
on  the  9th  of  August,  had  not  succeeded,  and  a  subse- 
quent one  of  eighty  millions,  decreed  on  the  27th  of  the 
same  month,  had  been  insuificient,  as  all  the  ordinary 
sources  of  revenue  were  stopped  by  the  abolition  and 
reduction  of  many  taxes,  and  by  the  difficulty  of  collect- 
ing those  that  remained.  It  was  then  that  Necker  pro- 
posed an  extraordinary  contribution  of  a  fourth  of  the 
national  income,  payable  in  advance,  and  that  Mirabeau 
supported  him  by  that  burst  of  eloquence  which  carried 
the  measure.  "In  relation,''  said  he,  "to  a  ridicalous 
motion  which  never  had  any  importance,  except  in  weak 
imaginations,  or  in  the  perfidious  designs  of  dishonest 
men,  you  have  lately  heard  these  furious  words  :  '  Cati- 
line is  at  the  gates  of  Rome,  and  ive  deliberate  /'  and 


ASSIGNATS.  147 

there  was  around  us  neither  Catiline,  nor  factions,  nor 
perils,  nor  Rome  ;  but  to-day  the  bankruptcy,  the  hide- 
ous bankruptcy  is  here  ;  it  threatens  to  swallow  up  your- 
selves, your  property,  your  honor,  and  you  deliberate  !" 
The  measure  thus  carried,  had  also  produced  only  a 
momentary  relief,  and  therefore  recourse  was  had  to  the 
decree  which  had  declared  the  property  of  the  church 
national  property.  The  difficulties  were  not,  however, 
got  rid  of,  even  by  these  extraordinary  means.  When 
a  decree  ordered  the  sale  of  church  domains  to  the 
amount  of  four  hundred  millions,  it  was  found  that  pur- 
chasers did  not  present  themselves,  for  the  rapidity  with 
which  the  innovations  followed  upon  each  other,  and  the 
general  confusion  they  produced,  impressed  even  the 
most  superficial  minds  with  an  idea  of  the  precipitancy 
and  instability  of  the  new  regulations,  and  men  were 
unwilling  to  part  with  their  cash  for  property,  the  legal- 
ity of  the  possession  of  which  might  soon  be  disputed. 
The  "  commune"  of  Paris  helped  the  assembly  out  of  this 
dilemma.  It  proposed,  and  the  assembly  resolved,  that 
the  municipalities  should  be  authorized  to  purchase  these 
domains  from  the  state,  and  to  sell  them  again  to  private 
individuals,  when  they  should  present  themselves ;  but 
as  the  municipalities  had  not  ready  money  to  pay  down 
at  once,  it  was  decided  that  they  should  pay  in  bills, 
with  which  bills  the  treasury  would,  in  its  turn,  pay  its 
creditors.  Afterwards  it  was  found  better,  instead  of 
these  municipal  bills,  or  assignats,  as  they  were  denom- 
inated, to  create  exchequer  bills,  to  which  they  gave  a 
forced  circulation,  and  which  became,  in  reality,  a  paper 
money,  as  a  decree  limited  the  quantity  of  assignats  to 
the  value  of  the  ecclesiastical  property  which  was  put 
up  for  sale,  and  ordered  the  immediate  destruction  of  all 
redeemed  assignats.     But  the  power  of  infringing,  as 


148  THE  CLUBS. 

well  as  the  power  of  decreeing,  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
assembly,  and  at  a  later  period,  assignats  were  circu- 
lated to  an  amount  immensely  surpassing  that  of  the 
value  of  the  lands — a  measure,  say  the  partisans  of  the 
Revolution,  and  of  the  doctrines  of  expediency,  "  which 
was  not  very  perfect  in  a  financial  point  of  view,  but 
which  was  most  excellent  in  a  political  point  of  view, 
as  it  was  the  saving  of  the  Revolution."  Thus  a  revo- 
lution which  commenced  in  tlie  name  of  a  suffering 
people,  supported  itself  by  still  further  impoverishmg 
that  people. 

During  the  debates  which  were  going  on  in  the  as- 
sembly, the  parties  became  daily  more  decidedly  marked, 
and  each  had  again,  without  the  assembly,  its  supporters 
and  instigators,  particularly  among  the  clubs,  which 
grew  in  importance  as  the  revolutionary  movement  ex- 
tended, and  in  some  of  which  were  already  germinating 
the  still  more  democratical  movement  which  was  to  suc- 
ceed to  the  existing  one.  The  most  prominent  among 
them,  was  that  of  the  "  Friends  of  the  Constitution," 
first  formed  at  Versailles  by  Lafayette  and  other  of  the 
Breton  deputies,  but  which  was  now  transferred  to  Paris, 
and  established  in  the  ancient  convent  of  the  Jacobins 
in  the  Rue  St.  Honore,  from  which  it  took  its  name  of 
the  Jacobin  Club,  a  name  which  has  become  but  too 
fatally  notorious  in  the  history  of  these  times.  From 
this  period  dates  the  admission  into  its  body  of  persons 
quite  unconnected  with  the  assembly,  and  a  change  in 
the  spirit  of  its  members,  who  soon  separated.  One 
party,  at  the  head  of  which  were  Danton  and  Camille 
Desmoulins,  for  whose  hot  patriotism  even  the  revolu- 
tionary eloquence  of  the  Jacobins  was  too  lukewarm, 
established  themselves  in  the  convent  of  the  Cordeliers, 
the  name  of  which  they  took ;  another   party,  whose 


THE  CLUBS.  14ft 

moderate  principles  repugned  the  violent  proceedings  of 
the  Jacobins,  and  which  was  particularly  influenced  by 
Lafayette,  and  afterwards  joined  by  all  the  moderate 
men  of  the  times,  took  the  name  of  the  "  Club  of  1789  ; 
Friends  of  the  Monarchial  Constitution,"  afterwards 
converted  into  that  of  the  "  Feuillans,"  after  their  place 
of  meeting,  the  convent  of  the  Feuillans.  It  is  said  that 
the  Jacobin  Club  counted  no  less  than  three  hundred 
similar  establishments  in  France,  which  were  in  direct 
correspondence,  and  forty-four  thousand  in  indirect  cor- 
respondence with  it.  What  was  its  influence  and  power, 
may  be  judged  from  this  immense  extension,  and  what 
was  the  character  of  its  influence  cannot  be  better  de- 
scribed than  by  quoting  the  words  of  a  writer  of  the 
present  day,  who  says,  when  speaking  of  the  eloquence 
of  its  members,  it  was  "  impassioned,  dull,  droning, 
patriotic  eloquence  :  implacable,  unfertile  save  for  de- 
struction, which  was  indeed  its  work  :  most  wearisome, 
though  most  deadly."* 

The  activity  of  these  clubs  was  powerfully  aided  by 
the  innumerable  newspapers  that  were  in  circulation, 
and  by  the  oratory  of  the  hundreds  of  mob  patriots,  who, 
following  the  example  of  their  betters,  harangued  the 
passers-by  from  the  top  of  the  corner-stones,  or  from  a 
tub,  a  barrel,  or  an  old  chair,  and  passed  their  opinions 
upon  state  affairs,  and  national  regeneration. 

*  Carlyle. 

13* 


J50         HOPES  OF  THE  COURT  PARTY. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Keports  of  Countcr-Revolutions — Disaffection  of  the  common  soldier^- 
The  King  appears  at  the  Assembly — His  speech  received  witli  universa. 
applause — Distrust  again  exhibited — Execution  of  Favras — Counter-revo- 
lutionary projects — Debates  in  the  Assembly — Civil  Constitution  of  tlie 
Clergy — Fete  in  the  Champ  de  Mars — Revolt  in  the  Army — Clergy  re- 
quired to  swear  to  maintain  the  civil  constitution  just  decreed — The 
King  compelled  at  length  to  sanction  tliis  decree — Opposition  of  flio 
Clergy — Mortification  of  the  King. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1790,  the  com- 
parative cahn  which  had  succeeded  the  king's  removal 
to  Paris,  began  again  to  give  way  before  a  general  agi- 
tation and  uneasiness,  particularly  caused  by  the  number 
of  reports  that  were  in  circulation  as  to  the  counter- 
revolutionary intentions  of  the  court,  which  was  sup- 
posed sometimes  to  base  its  hopes  upon  succors  from 
without  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  emigrants, 
particularly  of  the  Comte  d'Artois,  who  had  sought 
refuge  at  Turm,  and  sometimes  on  the  army  under 
Marshal  Bouille,*  and  even  on  the  assistance  of  certain 
parties  in  the  assembly. f 

*  Bouille,  stationed  at  Metz,  commanded  a  large  division  of  the  army, 
and  a  vast  extent  of  frontier,  and  possessing  all  the  feelings  of  the  aristoc- 
racy, though  not  in  their  excess,  he  did  every  thing  in  his  power  to  preserve 
his  troops  from  rising.  He  was  a  man  of  great  courage,  much  talent,  and 
great  integrity,  and  could  not  therefore  fail  to  be  disgusted  with  the  weak- 
ness of  the  court  and  the  base  and  clandestine  measures  of  its  agents. 

t  From  the  period  of  the  court's  removal  to  Paris,  Lafayette's  conduct 
becomes  more  clear,  and  thenceforward  he  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  a 
eincere  adherent  of  the  Constitutional  Monarchy  ;  as  one  of  those  who, 
disgusted  with  the  outrages  committed  by  that  revolution  which  tliey  began 
in  hope  and  sincerity,  earnestly  endeavored  to  put  down  anarchy,  and  to 
bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  all  parlies  which  should  ensure  the 
happiness  of  the  country.  He  therefore  approached  the  court,  and  was 
received  by  it  vviih  more  cordial  feelings  than  before.  It  is  said,  however, 
that  the  queen,  who  was  in  fact  the  directing  spirit  of  the  court,  hoped 
more  from  Mirabeau,  whom  she  had  succeeded  in  winning,  and  who,  in 
, point  of  genius,  was  vastly  superior  to  Lafayette.  Of  all  the  men  of  the 
Revolution,  none  have  been  so  differently  judged  as  Mirabeau.  After  a 
Youlb  spent  in  vice  and  wild  adventures,  he  presented  himself  to  the  nobles 


SUPPOSED  CONSPIRACY.  151 

Violent  affrays  often  took  place  between  the  army 
and  the  populace,  and  frequently  the  common  soldiers, 
who  were  devoted  to  the  new  order  of  things,  while  the 
officers  adhered  to  the  old,  delivered  up  the  latter  to  the 
vengeance  of  the  people.  The  clergy,  particularly  in 
Brittany,  where  they  had  most  influence,  protested 
against  the  alienation  of  their  property,  and  excited  their 
flocks  to  support  their  interests  ;  the  parliaments  also 
made  a  last  struggle  for  their  ancient  rights  and  privi- 
leges, and  all  these  movements  were  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  and  the  assembly  connected  with  the  plans  of  the 
court.  At  this  time  a  Marquis  de  Favras,  an  advent 
tnrer  who  had  sought  his  fortune  in  different  parts  of 
Europe,  was  brought  before  the  court  of  the  Chatelet 
accused  of  being  at  the  head  of  a  conspiracy  to  promote 
the  flight  of  the  king,  to  assassinate  13ailly  and  Lafay- 


of  Provence  as  a  candidate  for  their  suffrages  for  the  States  General,  but 
being  indignantly  rejected  by  his  peers,  lie  turned  to  the  Tiers  Etat,  offer- 
ing himself  as  advocate  of  interests  the  very  reverse  of  those  of  the  nobility. 
What  mattered  it  to  him'?  he  had  no  conviclions  to  follow  up,  he  merely 
sought  a  stage  on  which  he  could  act  before  the  world.  Wlien  there, 
though  his  voice  was  the  one  wliich  was  most  frequently  raised  to  threaten 
and  coerce  royalty  and  its  instruments,  it  was  his  voice  also  that  was 
raised  to  prevent  despotism  from  being  merely  transferred  from  the  crown 
to  the  representatives  of  tlie  people,  and  to  maintain  for  the  crown  the  pre- 
rogatives without  wliich  the  monarch  would  be  a  mere  puppet.  But  it 
was  his  voice  also  which  determined  the  fall  of  those  ancii  nt  institutions 
whose  birth  was  cotemporary  with  that  of  the  monarchy,  wliich  was  left 
a  foundering  wreck  when  they  fell.  Like  ail  the  men  of  his  day,  Rlira- 
beau  had  no  clear  and  defined  object  for  which  he  was  laboring,  and 
though  the  superiority  of  his  genius  often  afforded  him  glimpses  of  the 
truth,  when  others  were  in  utter  darkness,  lie  had  not  in  his  heart  that 
love  of  truth  which  would  have  led  him  to  toil  unceasingly  for  its  at- 
tainment when  lie  had  once  discerned  it.  True  genius  will  always  dis- 
cern truth,  but  it  is  the  moral  character  of  the  man,  that  will  decide 
whether  this  discernment  will  lead  to  great  results  or  not.  There  never 
was  a  truly  great  man  (even  in  the  general  acceptation  of  the  term,  which 
does  not  of  necessity  comprise  moral  greatness)  without  faith,  and  it  ii 
this  absence  of  faith  that  is  the  cause  of  our  not  s:  eing  one  great  man 
during  the  French  Revolution.  The  infamous  celebrities  of  the  reign  of 
terror,  were  but  mediocrities  led  by  circumstances,  not  commanding  them. 


152 

ette,  whose  National  Guards  still  guarded  the  palace, 
and  to  march  an  army  of  Swiss  and  Piedmontese  against 
Paris.  The  alarm  was  general,  and  it  was  whispered 
that  Monsieur,  the  king's  eldest  brother,  who  had  once 
had  some  connection  with  Fayras,  was  not  a  stranger  to 
this  plot.  The  prince  presented  himself  at  the  Hotel 
de  Ville,  and  protested  against  the  insinuations  directed 
against  him  ;  and  the  king,  alarmed  at  the.  Agitation 
created  by  this  new  suspicion,  was  advised  to  take  steps 
to  conciliate  public  opinion.  On  the  4th  of  February 
he  in  consequence  repaired  to  the  assembly,  where  his 
presence  was  quite  unexpected,  and  where  he  was  re- 
ceived with  great  applause.  After  the  assembly  was 
again  seated,  the  king,  standing,  addressed  to  them  a 
speech,  in  which  he  expatiated  on  the  troubles  to  which 
France  was  a  prey,  the  efforts  which  had  been  made  to 
calm  them,  and  to  provide  for  the  subsistence  of  the 
people  ;  he  recapitulated  the  proceedings  of  the  assem- 
bly, glancing  at  the  efforts  he  had  himself  made  to  attain 
the  same  objects  in  the  provincial  assemblies,  and  finally 
showed  that  he  had  throughout  manifested  a  desire  for 
reforms.  He  added  that  he  thought  it  particularly  in- 
cumbent upon  him  to  ally  himself  more  closely  to  the 
representatives  of  the  nation,  at  the  moment  when  they 
had  submitted  to  him  decrees,  destined  to  give  a  new 
organization  to  the  kingdom.  He  would  endeavor  to 
promote  this  new  system,  he  said,  with  all  his  power, 
and  would  consider  every  attempt  to  resist  it  as  highly 
criminal,  and  punish  it  with  all  the  severity  of  the  Jaws. 
These  last  words  were  enthusiastically  applauded,  and 
the  king  proceeded  to  notice  the  sacrifices  which  he  had 
himself  made,  and  called  upon  all  those  who  were  simi- 
larly situated,  to  imitate  his  resignation,  and  to  let  the 
advantages  of  their  country  console  them  for  the  sacri- 


THE  king's  speech.  153 

fices  of  their  private  interests.  After  having,  promised 
to  defend  the  constitution,  he  added  :  "  I  will  do  more  ; 
in  concert  'with  the  queen,  who  partakes  of  all  my  sen- 
timents, I  will  prepare  betimes  the  mind  and  heart  of 
my  son,*  for  this  new  order  of  things  which  circum- 
stances have  brought  about ;  I  will  accustom  him  from 
his  earliest  days  to  be  happy  in  seeing  the  French  peo- 
ple happy,  and  to  acknowledge  forever,  in  spite  of  the 
language  of  flatterers,  that  a  wise  constitution  will  pre- 
seive  him  from  the  dangers  of  inexperience,  and  that  a 
lawful  liberty  will  add  a  new  value  to  the  sentiments  of 
love  and  fidelity,  of  which  the  nation  has  for  so  many 
ages  given  such  touching  proofs  to  its  kings."  At  this 
part  of  the  speech  the  transports  were  universal,  and 
for  a  moment  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  the  sen- 
timents of  which  the  king  had  spoken,  were  still  glow- 
ing in  all  hearts.  The  king  continued — e.xpressing  his 
anxiety  about  the  respect  due  to  the  ministers  of  re- 
ligion, and  to  the  rights  of  property,  and  timidly  recom- 
mending the  assembly  not  to  undertake  too  many  things 
at  once,  and  representing  how  necessary  it  was  to  es- 
tablish the  authority  of  the  executive  power,  without 
which  there  could  be  no  lasting  power  within  the  king- 
dom, no  respect  abroad,  no  effective  government.  He 
endei?.  by  professing  his  attachment  to  the  new  constitu- 
tion, his  ardent  desire  for  the  peace,  happiness,  and 
prosperity  of  France,  and  exhorting  his  subjects  to  fol- 
low his  example. 

Unmixed  applause  from  the  assembly,  from  the  gal- 


*  'What  had  been  the  impression  this  unhappy  child  had  received  of  the 
Revolution  may  be  judged  by  the  touching  anecdote  told  by  Mde.  Campan. 
Walking  on  tlie  day  after  their  arrival  at  Paris,  in  the  garden  of  the  Tuil- 
eries,  with  the  queen,  the  dauphin,  on  seeing  some  scuffle  take  place  in 
the  street,  rushed  into  his  mother's  arms,  asking  in  an  agony  of  terror: 
"  Mamma,  mamma,  is  today  going  to  be  yesterday  again  1" 


154  EXECUTION  OF  FAVRAS. 

leries,  and  from  the  people  without,  applause  in  which 
even  the  queen  had  a  share,  proved  the  complete  suc- 
cess of  the  step  the  king  had  taken.  No  sooner  had 
he  departed  than  the  assembly  voted  an  address  of 
thanks  to  him  and  the  queen,  and  then  following  the  roy- 
al example,  each  of  its  members  took  oath  "  to  be  true 
to  the  nation,  the  law,  and  the  king,  and  to  rnaintain  with 
all  his  power  the  constitution  decreed  by  tne  National 
Assembly  and  accepted  by  the  king." 

This  as  every  other  feeling  at  that  time  communica- 
ting itself  like  an  electric  shock  from  one  to  another, 
the  whole  nation  was  soon  repeating  the  oath  ;  but  even 
before  the  enthusiasm  at  this  reconciliation  between  the 
people  and  the  king  could  reach  the  more  distant  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  distrust  had  already  sprung  up  anew 
among  the  parties.  Favras  had  been  condemned  to 
death  by  the  Chatelet,  though  protesting  that  he  was  in- 
nocent, and  was  hanged  on  the  Place  de  Greve,  to  the 
great  satisfaction  of  the  populace,  who  had  long  been 
impatient  to  enjoy  the  example  of  equality  represented 
by  the  spectacle  of  a  marquis  dangling  from  a  common 
gibbet,  which  it  surrounded  with  a  kind  of  savage  de- 
light, indulging  in  atrocious  jests,  and  parodying  in  dif- 
ferent manners  the  death-struggle  of  the  unfortunate  suf- 
ferer.* 

In  the  south  a  regular  connection  was  maintained  with 
the  Comte  d'Artois  and  the  emigrants  at  Turin,  and  dif- 
ferent counter-revolutionary  projects  were  entertained. 
The  "  haute  noblesse"  refusing,  it  is  said,  to  let  any 
other  class  have  a  part  in  re-establishing  the  ancient 
state  of  things,  for  fear  of  having  to  share  the  advanta- 
ges with  it,  was  determined  to  re-establish  the  throne  by 
the  succors  of  foreign  courts  alone,  while  the  ^^ petite 

*  Thiers. 


A  NEW  ELECTION  PROPOSED.  155 

noblesse,''''  rejecting  with  indignation  such  a  plan  as  little 
better  than  treason,  proposed  to  reawaken  the  ancient 
spirit  of  fanaticism  of  these  provinces,  and  to  make  the 
religious  ardor  of  the  people  and  their  attachment  to  their 
priests  serve  the  purposes  of  the  crown.* 

The  ancient  hatred  of  the  Catholics  for  the  Protest- 
ants was  fomented,  and  it  broke  out  in  open  violence, 
when  the  assembly  refused,  on  the  13th  Ji.ly,  1790,  to 
recognise  the  Catholic  faith  as  the  religion  of  the  state. 
The  discussion  of  this  question  occasioned  the  most  vio- 
lent scenes  in  the  assembly,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
brought  about  by  the  court,  which  seems  at  that  period 
to  have  been  most  active  in  secret  machinations  against 
the  Revolution,  in  order  to  bring  the  assembly  into  dis- 
repute with  those  among  the  French  who  still  clung  to 
their  ancient  faith.  A  few  days  afterwards  another 
question  was  mooted,  which  is  also  attributed  to  the 
court.  The  new  organization  was  completed,  and  as 
the  people  were  to  be  convoked  t^o  elect  their  magistrates, 
it  was  proposed  that  they  should,  at  the  same  time,  elect 
new  deputies  to  replace  those  who  actually  formed  the 
National  Assembly,  and  whose  power,  it  was  maintained 
by  those  who  framed  the  proposition,  was  limited  to,one 
year,  which  was  now  very  near  its  expiration.  This 
proposition  was,  indeed,  pregnant  with  so  inuch  confu- 
sion and  disorder,  that  no  one  can  help  suspecting  its 
origin,  whether  we  incline  to  the  side  of  those  who 
pretend  that  it  was  a  project  of  the  court,  which,  think- 
ing that  the  aristocracy  and  the  clergy  would  I  le  able  to 
exercise  a  pre-eminent  influence  over  a  new  election, 
deemed  it  a  means  of  regaining  power  ;  or  whether  we 
look  upon  it  as  an  attempt  of  the  republican  party,  whose 

*  M.  Froment,  Recueil  de  divers  Ecrits  relcitifs  a  la  Reeolulion.  M. 
Froment  was  one  of  the  chief  actora  in  the  plans  carried  on  between  th« 
provinces  of  the  Bouth  and  Turin. 


156  A  NEW  ELECTION  PROPOSED. 

centre  was  the  Jacobin  club,  at  once  to  obtain  that  pow- 
er,  which   they   but  too  soon  gained.     However   this 
might  be,  the  proposition  was  vehemently  rejected,  and 
the  assembly  decreed  that  new  elections  should  not  be 
proceeded  to,  until  it  should  be  deemed  proper  by   its 
own  body.     These  debates  were  soon  followed  by  others 
no  less  violent,  on  the  following  momentous  questions — • 
whether  the  right  of  declaring  war  and  peace  should  ap- 
pertain to  the  crown  or  to  the  assembly,  and  on  the  civil 
conslilution  of  the  clergy.     The  first  question  was  left 
entirely  to  IMirabeau  and  Barnave,  the  former  suj.port- 
ing  the  right  of  the  crown,  the  latter  advancing  the 
claims  of  the  assembly,  and  looked  upon  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  rights  of  the  people,  though  he,  in  fact,  only 
clothed  the  same  proposition  in  different  words.     Mira- 
beau,  on  this  occasion,  excited  such  hostility  among  the 
populace,  that  the  report  of  his  having  sold  his  services 
to  the  court,  which  had  long  circulated  in  whispers,  was 
now  loudly  proclaimed,  and  a  pamphlet  was   hawked 
about  the  streets,  having  for  title,  "  High  Treason  of  the 
Comte  dc  Mtrabeau.''''     But  these  attacks  only  lent  new 
vigor  to  Mirabeau's  eloquence,  which  gained  the  first 
decisive  victory  for  the  crown  which  it  had  won  since 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolution.     It  was  decreed 
that  the  king  should  notify  to  the  assembly  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities,  and  propose  the  decree  of  war 
or  of  peace,  on  which  the  assembly  was  to  deliberate, 
and  present  the  result  of  its  deliberations  for  the  sanction 
of  the  king. 

By  the  civil  constitution  of  the  clergy  was  understood 
the  placing  of  the  whole  ecclesiastical  establishment  of 
the  state  on  the  same  footing  as  the  judiciary.  Every 
department  was  to  have  its  bishop  as  it  had  its  superior 
tribunal  and  administration,   and  bishops   and  curates 


CIVIL  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  CLERGY.  157 

were  to  be  elected  as  were  the  administrators  and  judges. 
This  arrangement,  which  completely  destroyed  the  con- 
stitution of  the  church,  dissevered  the  bonds  which  bound 
it  to  Rome,  and  made  it  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
people,  of  course  met  with  the  most  violent  resistance 
from  the  clergy,  who  appealed  to  the  pope  against  these 
decisions. 

But  discord  was  now  again  to  be  suspended  for  a  mo- 
ment to  give  place  to  one  of  those  wonderful  scenes  of, 
almost  idyllic  love  and  harmony  to  which  this  strange 
people  seemed  to  abandon  itself  with  as  much  delight  as 
it  did  to  the  diabolical  scenes  of  carnage  and  suffering  in 
which  it  had  already  taken  part,  and  which  were  to  be 
far  surpassed  in  the  future. 

The  strange  love  of  excitement,  whatever  its  nature, 
as  evinced  at  this  time,  furnishes  one  of  the  strongest 
proofs  that  the  Revolution,  though  originally  caused  by 
a  false  and  wicked  system,  was  carried  on  by  a  kind  of 
national  intoxication  without  an  aim  or  an  object. 

The  troubles  in  the  south  had  given  rise  to  confedera- 
tions between  those  who  were  devoted  to  the  Revolution, 
which  were  entered  into  with  a  kind  of  solemnity,  the 
confederates  swearing  in  public  to  the  accompaniment 
of  drums  and  fifes,  and  with  flying  banners,  and  other  fes- 
tive demonstrations,  that  they  would  stand  by  each  other 
in  all  trials.  And  as  this  passion  for  swearing  seemed 
to  have  taken  possession  of  the  whole  people,  these  con- 
federations, promoted  by  the  Jacobin  club,  and  not  dis- 
couraged by  the  National  Assembly,  soon  spread  over 
the  whole  kingdom,*  and  were  to  be  crowned  by  the  gen- 


*It  is  strange  that  all  French  historians  persist  in  seeing  in  those  demon- 
Btrations  evidence  of  the  faith  of  the  people  in  the  Revolution,  whereas,  in 
Uuth,  they  prove  that  the  nation  felt  (though  without  accounting  to  itself 
for  the  feeling)  that  it  was  in  a  state  of  di<:?oiution. 
VOL.  I.  14 


158  FETE  OF  THE  CHAMP  DE  MARS. 

eral  confederation  of  the  whole  of  France,  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  proposition  of  the  municipality  of  Paris, 
was  to  be  celebrated  in  the  capital  by  deputations  from 
all  the  national  guards,  and  from  all  the  regiments  of  the 
arrhy,  on  the  14th  of  July,  the  anniversary  of  the  taking 
of  the  Bastille.*  The  description  of  tliis  fete,  certainly 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  the  world  has  ever  wit- 
nessed, is  given  in  the  following  words  by  a  contempo- 
rary, M.  de  Ferri^res  : 

"  The  confederates  arrived  from  all  parts  of  the  em- 
pire ;  they  were  lodged  in  private  houses,  whose  posses- 
sors were  anxious  to  furnish  beds,  sheets,  wood,  and  all 
that  might  contribute  to  render  their  stay  in  the  capital 
agreeable  and  comfortable.  The  municipality  took 
measures  to  prevent  this  great  confluence  of  strangers 
from  troubling  the  public  tranquillity.  Twelve  thousand 
laborers  worked  without  ceasing  at  the  preparations  in 
the  Champ  de  Mars.  Notwithstanding  the  activity 
with  which  this  work  was  carried  on,  it  advanced  but 
slowly.  It  was  feared  that  it  could  not  be  finished  for 
the  14th  July,  the  day  which  was  irrevocably  fixed  for  the 
ceremony,  being  the  famous  epoch  of  the  insurrection  of 
Paris  and  the  taking  of  the  Bastille.  In  this  difficulty 
the  districts  invited,  in  the  name  of  the  nation,  the  good 
citizens  to  join  the  workmen.  This  civic  invitation 
electrified  every  one  ;  the  women  partook  of  the  enthu- 
siasm, and  propagated  it ;  seminarists,  novices,  sisters 

*  As  a  prelude  to  this  feast  of  harmony  and  brotherly  love,  the  assembly 
decfped  that  the  feeling  which  the  populace  had  Biven  utterance  to  under 
the  gibbet  of  the  Marquis  de  Favras  should  be  still  further  indulged,  and 
that  nobility  and  titles,  and  all  their  distinguishing  marks,  such  as  armorial 
bearings,  liveries,  &c.,  &c.,  should  be  abolished,  and  thenceforward  men 
were  to  be  distinguished  by  their  merits  alone.  Mirabeau,  notwithstandinf 
his  affected  disdain  fur  the  class  to  which  he  belonged  by  birth,  is  said  not 
to  have  been  quite  indifferent  to  the  sacriiice  of  giving  up  his  title,  and  to 
have  exclaimed  {31st  August,  1790)  upon  the  occasion,  "With  your  Ri- 
Quelti,  (his  family  name,)  you  have  confused  all  Europe  for  tliree  days." 


THE    PROCESSION.  159 

of  religious  orders,  and  monks  grown  old  in  solitude, 
left  their  monasteries,  and  repaired  to  the  Champ  de 
Mars  with  spades  on  their  shoulders,  and  carrying  ban- 
ners ornamented  with  patriotic  emblems.  The  scene 
which  this  plain  presented  was  as  singular  as  it  was  in- 
teresting. The  most  dissimilar  characters  were  associ- 
ated togetlier  with  the  most  perfect  equality  ;  a  dishev- 
elled courtesan  and  a  virtuous  matron  might  be  seen 
working  together  as  fellow-laborers,  a  capuchin  and  a 
chevalier  of  St.  Louis  drawing  the  same  dray  a  porter 
and  a  petU-mailre  digging  at  the  same  piece  of  ground, 
a  robust  fish-woman  and  an  elegant  lady  of  rank  filling 
the  same  barrow.  The  rich,  the  poor,  the  well-dressed 
and  the  ragged,  old  men,  children,  comedians,  soldiers, 
clerks — some  at  work,  some  at  rest,  actors  and  specta- 
tors, afforded  together  a  spectacle  full  of  life  and  motion. 
Moveable  taverns  and  portable  shops  ;  songs  and  excla- 
mations of  joy,  the  sounds  of  drums  and  military  music, 
the  clatter  of  spades,  the  roll  of  barrows,  and  the  voice 
of  laborers  encouraging  each  other,  completed  the  charm 
and  gayety  of  this  enchanting  scene. 

"  The  14th  of  July,  the  day  of  the  confederation,  ar- 
rived. If  this  grand  ceremony  had  not  the  sesious  and 
august  character  of  a  fete,  at  the  same  time  religious  and 
national,  a  character  which  is  nearly  irreconcilable  with 
the  temper  of  the  French  people,  it  presented  a  delight- 
ful and  animated  picture  of  joy  and  enthusiasm  a  thou- 
sand times  more  touching.  The  confederates,  ranged 
by  departments  under  eighty-three  banners,  set  out  from 
the  Place  de  la  Bastille  ;  the  troops  of  the  line,  bands  of 
sailors,  the  Parisian  national  guard,  drums,  bands  of  mu- 
sic, and  flags,  opened  and  closed  the  march. 

"  The  confederates  traversed  the  streets  of  St.  Martin, 
St,  Denis,  and  St.  Honore,  and  proceeded  to  a  bridge 


160  THE    PROCESSION. 

of  boats  built  on  the  river.  They  were  received  in  theii 
progress  by  the  acclamations  of  an  immense  populace, 
who  thronged  the  windows,  the  streets,  and  the  quays. 
Wine,  hams,  and  fruit,  were  let  down  to  them  from  the 
windows,  and  the  people  hailed  them  with  benedictions. 
The  National  Assembly  joined  the  procession  at  the 
Place  Louis  XV.,  and  marched  between  a  battalion  of 
veterans  and  of  scholars  of  the  military  school  ;  a  sta- 
tion expressively  emblematic,  which  seemed  to  intimate 
that  in  them  the  interests  of  all  ages  were  united. 

"  Meanwhile  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  per- 
sons had  been  assembling  from  Paris  and  the  environs, 
at  the  Champ  de  Mars,  since  six  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
They  were  seated  on  the  grass  bank  which  formed  a  circus 
round  the  plain,  dripping  with  rain,  and  splashed  with 
mud,  and  holding  up  umbrellas  to  keep  off  the  torrents 
which  poured  upon  them,  and  on  the  slightest  symptom 
of  returning  sunshine,  wiping  their  faces,  adjusting  their 
dresses,  and  awaiting  with  smiles  the  arrival  of  the  Na- 
tional Assembly.  As  soon  as  the  first  confederates 
arrived,  they  struck  up  a  dance.  Those  who  followed 
imitated  their  example.  This  spectacle  of  so  great  an 
assemblage  of  men  come  from  all  parts  of  France, 
banishing  all  memory  of  the  past,  all  thought  of  the 
present,  and  all  apprehension  of  the  future,  and  giving 
unrestrained  vent  to  the  gayety  of  the  moment ;  and  of 
three  hundred  thousand  spectators  of  every  age,  and 
both  sexes,  following  their  movements  with  their  eyea, 
beating  time  with  their  feet,  and  forgetting  the  rain, 
hunger,  and  the  wearisomeness  of  waiting  so  many 
hours,  was  worthy  the  contemplation  of  a  philosopher. 
At  last  the  whole  procession  entered  the  Champ  de 
Mars  ;  the  dancing  ceased,  and  the  Bishop  of  Autun* 

*  The  celebrated  Talleyrand. 


ADMINISTERING    THE    OATH.  161 

proceeded  to  solemnize  the  mass.  Lafayette,  at  the 
head  of  the  Parisian  militia,  and  of  the  naval  and  mili- 
tary deputies,  then  approached  the  altar,  and  swore,  in 
the  name  of  the  troops  and  confederates,  to  be  faithful 
to  the  nation,  the  law,  and  the  king.  The  discharge  of 
four  pieces  of  artillery  announced  to  France  this  solemn 
adjuration.  The  president  of  the  National  Assembly 
repeated  the  same  oath.  The  people  took  it  up,  and 
the  words  I  swear  it,  rent  the  air.  The  king  rose  up 
and  proclaimed  with  a  loud  voice,  /,  King  of  France, 
swear  to  employ  the  power  with  which  a  constitutional 
act  of  the  state  has  invested  me,  to  maintain  the  consti- 
tution decreed  hy  the  National  Assembly,  and  accepted 
by  me.  The  queen,  at  the  same  time  taking  the  dauphin 
in  her  arms,  and  holding  him  up  to  the  people,  exclaimed  : 
Behold  my  son;  he  joins  me  in  these  sentiments.  This 
unexpected  exclamation  called  forth  a  thousand  shouts 
of  Vive  le  Roi !  Vive  la  Reine !  Vive  le  Dauphin  ! 
Bands  of  military  music,  the  roar  of  artillery,  and  the 
acclamations  of  the  people,  then  closed  the  ceremony 
with  stunning  and  triumphant  harmony." 

With  the  festive  decorations  disappeared  the  seemino- 
concord,  and  France  was  again  the  theatre  of  fierce 
struggles.  All  Bouille's  endeavors  had  been  in  vain  ;  ' 
the  army,  inspired  by  the  pervading  spirit,  had  revolted, 
first  at  Metz,  then  at  Nancy,  at  which  last  place  an  en- 
gagement (31st  August,  1790)  ensued  between  the 
troops  who  had  remained  faithful,  and  the  rebels,  in 
which  the  latter  were  conquered,  and  for  a  time  order 
was  re-established. 

Necker,  whose  influence  and  popularity  had  long  been 
or.  the  wane,  made  a  last  ineffectual  protest  agai  ist  the 
issuing  of  eight  hundred  millions'  worth  of  assignats, 
decreed  by  the  assembly,  and  then  tendered  his  resigna- 

14* 


162  OPPOSITION  OF  THE  CLERGY. 

tion,  and  his  example  was  soon  followed  by  his  col- 
leagues in  the  ministry,  who  were  indeed  but  mere  nul- 
lities, and  who  had  been  made  to  understand  that  such 
was  the  desire  of  the  assembly. 

The  king,  whose  position  became  more  and  moie 
painful,  began  at  this  period  to  entertain  thoughts  of 
flying  from  the  capital,  thoughts  which  he  had  a  long 
time  rejected,  because  he  judged  that  his  flight  would 
be  the  signal  for  civil  war ;  but  things  now  began  to 
wear  such  an  aspect,  that  this  evil  seemed  at  all  events 
to  be  inevitable. 

The  popular  party,  exasperated  by  the  continued 
efforts  of  the  clergy  in  the  western  and  southern  pro- 
vinces, to  get  up  counter-revolutionary  movements, 
decreed,  as  a  means  of  crushing  their  resistance,  that 
the  ecclesiastics,  as  well  as  all  other  functionaries, 
sTiould  take  the  civil  oath  before  their  "  communes"  and 
in  their  churches,  and  in  addition  to  this,  that  they  should 
swear  to  maintain  the  civil  constitution  of  the  clergy. 
Those  that  refused  were  to  be  considered  as  having 
forfeited  their  situation,  and  it  was  ordered  that  lists 
should  be  made  out  with  the  names  of  those  who  took, 
and  those  who  did  not  take,  the  oaths.  These  decrees 
were  presented  to  the  king  for  his  sanction.  He  secret- 
ly referred  them  to  the  pope,  who  refused  his  concur- 
rence ;  but  riots  having  again  taken  place,  the  king  gave 
his  sanction,  and  thereby  greatly  exasperated  the  clergy, 
who  persisted  in  their  resistance  to  a  measure  which 
they  considered  illegal  in  the  extreme.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  sixty-four  curates,  all  the  ecclesiastics  mem- 
bers of  the  assembly  refused  to  take  the  oaths,  (27th 
November,  1790,)  and  their  example  was  followed  by 
five-sixths  of  the  clergy  of  the  realm.  They  were,  in 
consequence,  dismissed  from  their  functions,  and  their 


DIVISION    OP    THE    CLERGY.  163 

places  filled  with  more  tractable  occupants.  But  the 
dismissed  ecclesiastics  protested  against  these  proceed- 
ings, declared  their  successors  to  be  illegal  intruders, 
and  excommunicated  all  those  who  should  receive  the 
sacrament  from  their  hands. 

To  all  the  other  anomalies  in  the  state,  was  thus 
added  the  deplorable  spectacle  of  two  distinct  clergies, 
the  one  in  open  opposition  to  the  new  laws  of  the  state, 
the  other  heretical  according  to  the  ancient  laws  of  the 
church.  The  revolutionary  party  lost  the  support  of 
men  whose  moral  character  ensured  respect,  while  the 
adherents  of  the  ancien  regime  regained,  by  their  means, 
a  part  of  the  people,  who  in  some  of  the  provinces  of 
France  were  devotedly  attached  to  their  priests,  who 
had  always  been  to  them  true  friends  and  protectors. 
The  refractory  clergy  thus  became  the  most  formidable 
opponents  of  the  revolution,  while  the  constitutional 
clergy  (as  they  were  called)  brought  it  into  the  greatest 
disrepute  by  the  looseness  of  their  morals  and  the  im- 
piety of  their  doctrines.  To  the  doubts  and  anxieties 
to  which  the  king,  in  consequence  of  his  weak  but  con- 
scientious character,  had  long  been  a  prey,  were  now 
added  the  reproaches  of  his  conscience  for  not  having 
had  the  strength  to  protest  against  the  violation  of  the 
ecclesiastical  constitution,  and  the  humiliation,  felt  even 
by  him  who  had  submitted  to  so  much,  at  having  even 
his  ministers  forced  upon  him  by  the  popular  will. 


164  THE  king's  letter. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Tlie  King  secretly  solicits  the  aid  of  Foreign  Powers— Project  of  Mirabeau 
—His  Death— The  King  not  allowed  to  go  to  St.  Cloud— His  Remon- 
strance—Secret Convention  with  Foreign  Powers— Flight  of  the  King 
and  Queen — Discovered  and  Arrested — The  Royal  Family  brought  back 
to  Paris— Decree  of  the  Assembly— Answer  of  the  King  to  the  Comml')- 
saries  deputed  by  the  Assembly— Republican  Agitation— Decr<^  preserv- 
ing just  (he  Shadow  of  Monarchy— Riots  at  the  Champ  de  Mars— Na- 
tional Guaids  fire  upon  the  People— Former  Idols  now  execrated- Treaty 
of  Pilnilz— Preparations  for  War— The  Constitution  completed— The 
King  accepts  it— Dissolution  of  the  Assembly. 

The  king-,  though  now  apparently  determined  upon 
taking  some  step  to  emancipate. himself  from  the  thral- 
dom in  which  he  was  kept,  still  wavered  between  the 
different  means  held  out  to  him.  On  one  side  he  neo-o- 
tiated  with  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  to  whom  he  sent 
the  Baron  de  Bretueuil  to  solicit  their  aid  in  re-estab- 
lishing his  authority,  and  wrote,  on  the  30th  December, 
1790,  to  the  king  of  Prussia,  "I  claim  with  confidence 
your  support  at  a  moment  when,  notwithstanding  my 
acceptation  of  the  new  constitution,  the  factions  openly 
show  their  intention  to  destroy  what  remains  of  the  mon- 
archy. I  have  addressed  myself  to  the  emperor,  to  the 
empress  of  Russia,  to  the  kings  of  Spain  and  Sweden, 
and  have  presented  to  them  the  idea  of  a  congress  of 
the  principal  powers  of  Europe,  supported  by  a  strong 
army,  as  the  best  means  of  arresting  the  factions  here, 
and  of  re-establishing  a  more  durable  state  of  affairs  ; 
and  of  preventing  the  evil  under  which  we  are  suffering 
from  spreading  to  the  other  stales  of  Europe.  I  hope 
that  your  majesty  will  approve  of  my  ideas,  and  will 
keep  my  secret  inviolably."*     On  the  other  side,  the 

*  Histoire  Parlcmentaire  de  la  Revolution,  vol.  x.  Though  the  mig- 
fortunes  of  Louis  XVI.  give  him  the  greatest  claims  to  our  compassion  and 
our  forbearance,  one  cannot  help  feeling  indignant  at  seeing  a  king  who  had 


DEATH    OF    MIRABEAU.  165 

connection  with  Mirabeau,  whose  confidence  in  his  own 
power  inspired  others  with  an  equal  idea  of  his  import- 
ance, was  more  sedulously  cultivated,  and  regular  plans 
for  the  counter-revolutionary  movement  were  concerted 
with  him. 

In  the  mean  time  emigration  had  increased  to  such  a 
degree,  that  it  was  considered  necessary  to  put  a  stop 
to  it ;  but  when  the  measure  was  proposed  in  the  Na- 
tional Assembly,  Mirabeau  declared  against  it,  and  car- 
ried the  victory  by  his  usual  audacity,  though  he  could 
not  prevent  a  decree  from  being  passed  relative  to  the 
residence  of  functionaries,  in  which  it  was  declared,  that 
if  the  king  left  the  kingdom  he  should  be  considered  as 
having  abdicated. 

But  neither  this,  nor  his  being  denounced  in  the 
Jacobin  Club  as  a  traitor,  prevented  Mirabeau  from 
prosecuting  his  plan  of  persuading  the  king  to  fly  to 
Lyoos,  to  take  up  his  stand  there  as  a  mediator  between 
the  emigration  and  the  assembly,  by  giving  a  new  con- 
stitution to  the  realm,  which  should  consecrate  all  the 
great  principles  of  the  Revolution.  He  encouraged 
the  king  by  assurances  of  having  gained  a  party  in  the 
assembly,  among  the  orators  of  the  now  all-powerful 
clubs,  and  among  the  administrators  of  thirty-six  depart- 
ments. The  king  at  last  acquiesced  ;  Bpuille  was  made 
acquainted  with  the  royal  intentions,  and  the  means  of 
execution  were  being  discussed,  when  death  put  an  end 
to  Mirabeau's  career,  on  the  2d  April,  1791.  His 
death  was  considered  a  public  calamity,  and  his  body 
was  deposited  in  the  church  of  St.  Genevieve,  converted 
into  a  pantheon  destined  to  receive  the  great  men  of 
revolutionized  France. 

not  ventured  one  courageous  step  to  maintain  his  own  dignity  thus  appealing 
to  foreign  aid- 


.166  THE  king's  detention  in  PARIS. 

The  death  of  Mirabeau  did  not  alter  the  determination 
of  the  court  to  leave  Paris,  but  it  made  its  movements 
less  decided,  and  gave  a  new  character  to  the  flight, 
which,  undertaken  under  Mirabeau's  auspices,  would 
never  have  been  considered  as  a  complete  breach  with 
'the  assembly  and  the  people,  but  which,  concerted  with 
Bouille  and  the  emigrants  alone,  was,  when  it  took  place, 
regarded  as  nothing  less  than  high  treason  to  the  state  ; 
for  though  the  men  of  those  days  held  very  light  the 
ancient  laws  of  the  monarchy,  they  required  from  the 
monarch  very  strict  adherence  to  those  they  had  impos- 
ed upon  him. 

On  the  18th  April  the  king  proposed  going  to  St. 
Cloud,  (a  summer  palace  in  the  environs  of  Paris,)  to 
spend  the  Easter-week  there,  but  the  people,  suspecting 
that  this  was  but  a  pretext,  assembled  in  great  numbers 
round  the  carriage,  and  cut  the  traces.  Lafayette  was 
unable  to  disperse  them,  as  his  guards  refused  to  obey 
his  orders,  and  the  king  was  obliged  to  return  to  the 
Tuileries,  whence  he  repaired  to  the  assembly,  by  which 
he  was  received  with  every  mark  of  deference,  to  com- 
plain of  the  violence  used  against  him.  The  partisans 
of  the  Revolution  assert  that  the  king  sought  every  op- 
portunity to  make  it  appear  he  was  under  restraint ;  but 
though  we  may  disapprove  of  the  double-dealing  to 
which  Louis  in  his  weakness  too  often  had  recourse, 
we  cannot  but  see  that  the  restraint  in  which  he  waa 
held  was  so  manifest,  that  there  was  no  necessity  for 
calling  in  the  aid  of  false  semblances. 

This  new  outrage  confirmed  the  king  in  his  decision, 
by  flight  to  regain  an  independent  position  ;  but  to  ensure 
success  by  lulling  the  people  into  false  security,  he  de- 
scended to  unworthy  duplicity.  He  affected  a  greater 
zeal  than  ever  for  the  Revolution,  wrote  a  letter  to  his 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  FLIGHT.  IC*' 

ambassadors  at  foreign  courts,  proclaiming-  his  attach- 
ment to  the  new  constitution,  disavowing  the  intention 
of  flying,  which  was  attributed  to  him,  and  declaring  all 
those  his  enemies  who  should  doubt  of  his  being  in  a 
state  of  perfect  freedom ;  but  at  the  same  time  couch- 
ing his  letter  in  such  terms  as  to  indicate  that  violence 
had  forced  it  from  him,  and  empowering  his  brother,  the 
Comte  d'Artois,  to  seek  an  interview  with  the  emperor 
Leopold,  who  was  then  at  Mantua,  to  solicit  him  to  con- 
cert with  the  otlier  princes  definitive  measures  to  be 
taken  in  his  tavor.  In  this  interview,  it  was  determined 
that  thirty-five  thousand  Austrians  should  be  marched 
into  Flanders,  fifteen  thousand  into  Alsace,  while  thirty 
thousand  Piedmontese  were  to  move  towards  Lyons,  and 
twenty  thousand  Spaniards  towards  the  Pyrenees. 

The  emperor  promised  the  co-operation  of  the  king 
of  Prussia  and  the  neutrality  of  England,*  and  a  protes- 
tation written  in  the  name  of  the  house  of  Bourbon  was 
to  be  signed  by  the  kings  of  Naples  and  of  Spain,  by  the 
infant  of  Parma,  and  by  the  expatriated  princes.  The 
greatest  secrecy  was  to  be  maintained,  and  the  king  was 
recommended  to  remain  perfectly  quiet.  Louis  XVL 
at  first  accepted  the  convention,  and  determined  upon 
acting  in  accordance  with  it ;  but  there  was  a  schism  in 
the  emigrant  camp,  and  when  Bretueuil,  who  belonged 
to  the  party  which  was  not  acting  at  Mantua,  advised 
the  king's  flight,  his  advice  was  finally  adopted,  and 
Bouille  was  apprized  that  the  king  had  determined  upon 
deferring  no  longer.  The  general,  in  consequence,  drew 
together  the  troops  he  could  best  depend  upon  in  a  camp 
at  Montmedy,  a  place  upon  the  frontiers,  where  the  king 
had  decided  to  take  his  stand,  and  prepared  every  thing 
in  the  best  way  to  secure  the  safety  of  the  monarch, 

*  Thiers. 


168  OBSTACLES  AND  DELAYS. 

giving,  as  a  pretext  for  all  these  preparations,  certain 
movements  of  the  powers  without.  The  20th  of  June 
was  fixed  as  the  day  of  the  king's  departure.  The 
queen,  who  always  showed  much  more  decision  and  dig 
nity  of  character  than  Louis,  had  undertaken  all  the  ar- 
rangements to  be  made  on  the  route  from  Paris  to  Cha- 
lons, while  Bouille  was  to  provide  the  means  of  safety 
from  that  place  to  Montmedy.  Small  detachments  of 
cavalry  were,  under  the  pretext  of  escorting  a  treasure, 
to  be  stationed  at  short  distances  from  each  other  on  the 
route,  and  Bouille  himself  was  to  meet  the  royal .  fugi- 
tives some  distance  in  advance  of  Montmedy.  The 
queen  had  found  means  of  securing  a  secret  egress  from 
the  palace,  and  the  royal  family  were  to  travel  with  false 
passports  and  under  feigned  names.  The  greatest  se- 
crecy had  been  maintained,  but  by  some  unknown  means 
a  part  of  the  plan  must  have  transpired,  as  the  national 
guard  on  service  at  the  palace  was  doubled.  But  in 
spite  of  this  redoubled  vigilance,  on  the  21st  June,  (the 
departure  had  been  postponed  for  one  day,)  at  midnight, 
the  king,  tlifi  queen,  Madame  Elizabeth,  the  king's  sister, 
and  Madame  de  Tourzel,  the  governess  of  the  royal 
children,  with  her  pupils,  (all  in  disguise,)  succeeded  in 
escaping  from  the  palace  unseen.*  Madame  de  Tour- 
zel and  the  children  immediately  got  into  a  glass  coach, 
driven  by  Count  Fersen,  a  young  Swedish  nobleman, 
disguised  as  coachman,  and  were  soon  joined  by  the 
king  and  Madame  Elizabeth  ;  but  the  queen,  who  was 
accompanied  by  a  garde  du  corps,  and  was  the  last  who 

*  The  king's  two  aunts  had  left  the  kingdom  two  months  before,  but  had 
been  arrested  at  the  frontiers  until  the  National  Assembly  should  be  apprized 
of  their  intention.  A  great  debate  ensued,  and  was  only  ended  by  one  of 
the  deputies  exclaiming  that  Europe  would  be  astonished  to  find  that  the 
National  Assembly  of  France  had  deliberated  two  days  upon  whetlier  two 
old  women  should  liear  mass  at  Paris  or  nt  Rome. 


THE  ROYAL  FLIGHT.  169 

left  the  palace,  met  M.  de  Lafayette's  carriage,  escorted 
by  torch-bearers,  and,  endeavoring  to  escape  notice,  lost 
her  way,  and  did  not  rejoin  her  companions  until  an  hour 
after  :  an  hour  spent  by  them  in  mortal  anxiety.  When 
they  were  all  safe  in  the  carriage  Count  Fersen  got  upon 
the  box,  but  he  being  also  but  imperfectly  acquainted 
with  the  intricacies  of  Paris,  more  precious  time  was 
lost  before  they  reached  the  Porte  St.  Martin  and  got 
into  the  berlin,  drawn  by  six  fleet  horses,  which  there 
awaited  them.  Madame  de  Tourzel  was  supposed  to  be 
the  mother  of  the  family,  under  the  name  of  Madame 
de  Korflf,  and  the  king  her  valet  de  chamhre.  The  berlin 
was  preceded  by  three  gardes  du  corfs  disguised  as 
couriers  and  servants.  During  the  night  the  royal  fugi- 
tives proceeded  unimpeded  ;  and  the  Comte  de  Provence, 
the  king's  eldest  brother,  with  his  consort,  in  the  mean 
time  directed  their  flight  towards  Flanders,  taking  an- 
other route  in  order  not  to  awaken  suspicion. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Paris  was  still  igno- 
rant of  the  king's  flight,  but  soon  after  the  secret  trans- 
pired and  circulated  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  La 
fayette,  though  despairing  of  being  able  to  overtake  the 
fugitives,  immediately  sent  out  three  aides-de-camp  iii 
pursuit  of  them,  taking  upon  himself  the  responsibility 
of  the  written  orders  which  he  gave  them,  and  which 
were  couched  in  terms  as  if  he  believed  the  king  had 
been  carried  off  by  force.  This  supposition,  which  as- 
sured to  the  king  more  respectful  treatment,  was  also 
adopted  by  the  assembly,*  in  which  the  moderate  party 
now  had  the  ascendant.  The  assembly  calmly  waited 
the  issue  of  affairs,  while  occupied  in  the  measures  to 
be  taken  in  the  alarming  crisis,  but  in  the  sections  and 
the  clubs  there  were  uproar  and  joyful  acclamations ; 

*  Tliiers. 
▼OL.  1.  15 


170  THE  ROYAL  FLIGHT. 

all  the  insignia  of  royalty  were  destroyed  by  them,  and 
their  organs,  the  journals,  in  their  usual  coarse  and  infa- 
mous language,  congratulated  France  on  "having  got 
rid  of  an  idiotic  king,  and  of  a  wicked  woman,  who,  to 
the  wantonness  of  Messalina,  joined  the  bloodthirstiness 
of  the  Medicis."  "Now  is  the  moment,"  proclaimed 
Marat,  in  his  particular  newspaper,  "  now  is  the  moment 
when  the  heads  of  the  ministers,  of  Lafayette,  of  Bailly, 
of  all  the  rogues  of  the  municipality,  of  all  the  traitors 
of  the  assembly  ought  to  fall ;"  and  when  we  remember 
the  forty-four  thousand  branch  associations  of  the  Jaco- 
bin Club,  of  which  these  monsters  were  the  mouthpieces, 
and  where  their  sentiments  found  ready  echo,  we  may 
form  a  conception  of  the  spirit  which  animated  France. 
The  longings  of  the  people  of  France  were  expressed 
in  the  hideous  ravings  of  Marat,  of  Camille  Desmoulins, 
of  Danton,  and  whatever  were  the  names  of  the  ranters 
in  the  Jacobin  and  Cordelier  Clubs,  whose  love  of  their 
country  seemed  to  inspire  them  with  nothing  but  a  fierce 
hatred  of  all  those,  who,  by  trying  to  maintain  any  kind 
of  order,  were  of  course  considered  as  mortal  enemies, 
by  men  whose  chief  aim  was  disorder. 

In  the  mean  time  the  royal  fugitives  had  proceeded 
on  their  way,  without,  however,  meeting  the  military 
detachments  which  had  been  posted  on  the  route  to  pro- 
tect them.  The  people  had  expressed  so  much  sus- 
picion and  uneasiness  at  the  unexpected  presence  of 
them,  that  they  had  been  obliged  to  withdraw,  in  order 
not  to  create  danger  instead  of  ensuring  safety.  Al- 
ready at  Chalons,  the  king,  who  had  the  imprudence  to 
be  looking  out  of  the  carriage  window,  had  been  recog- 
nised, but  the  mayor  of  the  place,  being  fortunately  a 
stanch  royalist,  had  prevented  the  person  who  made 
the  discovery   from  revealing   it.      At  St.  Menehould 


ARREST  OF  THE  KING.  171 

fortune  was  less  favorable,  the  king  repeated  the  im- 
prudence, and  was  again  recognised,  and  this  time  by  a 
fierce  republican,  Drouet,  the  son  of  the  postmaster  of 
the  place.  He  had  not  time  to  have  the  king  arrested 
on  the  spot,  but  hastened  on  to  Varennes,  the  next  sta- 
tion, pursued  by  a  brave  soldier  who  suspected  his  in- 
tention and  hoped  to  detain  him.  But  in  vain  ;  Drouet 
arrived  at  Varennes  before  the  unhappy  fugitives,  and 
having  apprized  the  municipality,  instant  measures  were 
taken  for  the  legal  arrestation  of  the  king.  The  latter 
protested  for  a  long  while,  assuring  the  authorities  that 
they  were  mistaken,  that  he  was  not  the  king,  but  when 
they  insisted,  and  the  dispute  was  waxing  warm,  the 
queen  impatiently  exclaimed  ;  "  Since  you  recognise 
him  as  your  king,  then  treat  him  at  least  with  due  re- 
spect." 

The  king,  seeing  that  further  dissimulation  was  use- 
less, now  tried  to  engage  the  people  present  in  his  favor, 
and  turning  to  M.  Sausse,  the  functionary  who  had 
arrested  him,  he  protested  that  he  had  not  intended  to 
leave  the  kingdom,  but  merely  wished  to  place  himself 
in  a  'position  where  he  could  act  more  independently ; 
then,  throwing  his  arms  round  Sausse,  the  unhappy 
monarch  wept,  and  implored  him  in  touching  terms  to 
save  his  wife  and  his  children ;  and  the  queen,  taking 
the  dauphin  in  her  arms,  joined  her  prayers  to  his. 
Sausse,  though  moved,  remained  firm,  and  entreated  the 
king  to  return  to  Paris,  but  Louis  would  not  hear  of  this, 
and  insisted  on  proceeding  to  Montmedy.  At  this  junc- 
ture two  cavalry  detachments  arrived,  and  the  royal 
family  thought  themselves  saved  ;  but  on  learning  that 
the  king  was  arrested,  the  common  soldiers  declared 
that  they  were  for  the  nation,  and  that  they  would  not 
be  accomplices  in  his  flight.     In  the  mean  time  the  na- 


172  RETURN  TO  PARIS. 

tional  guards  in  the  environs  had  been  summoned,  and 
were  gathered  together  in  great  numbers,  and  all  hope 
was  vain.  The  night  passed  in  anxious  suspense.  At 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning  Lafayette's  aide-de-camp 
arrived  with  his  order,  and  the  royal  travelling-carriage 
was  again  turned  towards  Paris.  Bouille,  who  had 
been  apprized  in  the  middle  of  the  night  of  what  had 
happened,  had  immediately  put  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
regiment  of  cavalry,  and  spurred  on  by  the  anxiety  that 
devoured  him,  arrived  at  Varennes  an  hour  and  a  half 
after  the  royal  family's  departure,  and  found  the  town 
already  prepared  to  resist  his  entrance.  The  bridge 
over  the  river  that  he  would  have  to  pass  in  order  to 
follow  the  royal  family  was  also  thrown  down,  so  that 
the  time  that  would  be  lost  in  overcoming  these  ob- 
stacles, made  all  hope  of  overtaking  and  rescuing  the 
king  vain,  and  Bouille  retired  with  a  heart  bleeding  for 
his  royal  master.  He  immediately  passed  the  frontiers, 
and  when  in  security,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  assembly, 
generously  taking  upon  himself  the  whole  blame  of  the 
king's  flight,  and  threatening  immediately  to  attack 
France  at  the  head  of  a  foreign  army,  in  case  any  vio- 
lence was  attempted  against  the  king's  person. 

When  the  arrest  of  the  king  was  made  known  at 
Paris,  the  people  manifested  the  greatest  delight,  and 
the  assembly  immediately  deputed  three  of  its  members 
to  meet  the  monarch  and  accompany  him  to  Paris.  The 
commissaries  chosen  were  all  of  the  left  side ;  they 
were  Petion,  Barnave,  and  Latour-MauboiJrg.  The 
latter  followed  in  a  carriage  with  Madame  de  Tourzel, 
the  two  former  took  their  seats  in  the  royal  carriage, 
where  Petion  seems  to  have  vented  his  patriotism  in 
basely  humiliating  the  unhappy  family,  on  whose  pri- 
Tacy  he  had  forced   himself;  while  Barnave's  young 


THE  KING  SUSPENDED  FROM  HIS  FUNCTIONS.         173 

enthusiastic  soul,  already  moved  to  pity  by  the  sight  of 
fallen  grandeur,  learned  in  conversation  with  the  queen 
and  princess  Elizabeth,  to  appreciate  their  noble  char- 
acters and  elevated  minds,  and  began,  as  Mirabeau  had 
done  before  him,  to  dream  of  reconciling  the  king  and 
the  constitution.  The  queen,  on  her  side,  was  charmed 
with  the  courteous  politeness  and  real  merit  of  the  young 
deputy,  and  from  that  moment  gave  him  her  full  esteem 
and  confidence.* 

During  the  journey,  which  lasted  eight  days,  the 
revolutionary  spirit  of  the  departments  was  strongly 
manifested  ;  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  national 
guards  gathered  along  the  royal  route,  to  serve  as  es- 
corts, and  even  the  presence  of  the  commissaries  of  the 
assembly  could  not  protect  the  royal  family  from  their 
insults  and  abuse.  At  Paris,  where  it  had  been  pla- 
carded on  all  the  walls,  that  "  whoever  applauded  the 
king  should  be  beaten,  whoever  insulted  him  should  be 
hanged,"  they  were  received  by  an  immense  crowd,  in 
threatening  silence  ;  and  saved  by  the  eflorts  of  Lafay- 
ette and  his  guards  from  further  outrages,  they  again 
entered  the  Tuileries,  where,  in  consequence  of  a  de- 
cree of  the  assembly,  declaring  that  the  king  was  pro- 
visionally suspended  from  his  functions,  he  was  for  a 
time  guarded  like  a  state-prisoner. 

This  decree  had,  however,  not  passed  without  violent 
opposition ;  two  hundred  and  ninety  deputies  had  pro- 
tested against  it,  and  had  even  refused  to  take  part  in 
the  debate  upon  it,  in  order  to  render  invalid  the  opera- 
tions of  the  assembly,  (30th  June,  1791.)  Barnave  and 
the  two  Lameths  had  now  entered  into  regular  connec- 
tion with  the  court,  and  Barnave  himself  drew  up  the 
king's  answer  to  the  commissaries  deputed  by  the  as- 

*  Madame  Campari. 

15* 


174  A  REPUBLIC  PROPOSED. 

sembly  to  interrogate  liim.  In  tliis  answer  the  king 
gave  as  a  reason  for  his  flight,  the  desire  of  making 
himself  fully  acquainted  with  public  opinion,  and  proved, 
by  numerous  facts,  that  it  was  not  his  intention  to  leave 
the  kingdom.  Otherwise,  this  document  contains  a 
series  of  downright  falsehoods,  which  being  cleverly 
managed,  has  obtained  for  it,  from  M.  Thiers,  and  other 
worshippers  of  the  doctrines  of  expediency,  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  "  master-work  of  cleverness  ;"  but  the  lovers 
of  truth  and  true  dignity  of  character,  cannot  but  de- 
plore that  Louis  XVI.,  who  knew  so  well  liov\  to  bear 
his  sufferings,  when  they  did  at  last  come  in  their  most 
fearful  shape,  should  so  often  have  condescended  to  un- 
worthy means  to  help  himself  out  of  his  difficulties. 

Violent  discussions  took  place  in  the  assembly,  upon 
the  mviolability  of  the  king's  person,  and  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  his  authority.  The  moderate  party  had  still 
the  ascendant ;  the  Jacobins,  however,  whose  principles 
were  represented  in  the  assembly  by  Robespierre,  Pe- 
tion,  Buzot,  and  a  few  others,  would  not  hear  of  any 
re-establishment  of  authority  or  prerogative,  but  insisted 
that  the  king's  flight  was  equivalent  to  an  abdication, 
and  that  the  assembly  had  now  to  proclaim  his  having 
forfeited  the  throne,  and  to  establish  a  republic.  It  was 
the  first  time  that  the  word  was  pi'onounced  in  the  as- 
sembly, though  things  without,  from  the  very  com- 
mencement, had  a  decided  tendency  towards  it,  this 
being  one  of  the  phases  through  which  the  state  had  to 
pass  before  it  reached  the  complete  state  of  anarchy 
which  must  inevitably  follow,  where  the  very  founda- 
tions of  the  slate  are  shaken,  and  where  the  system  of 
levelhng  had  begun  as  it  had  in  France.  Who  was 
there  in  France  to  say  to  the  people,  "  So  far  shalt 
thou  go  and  no  farther,"  when  the  people  had  learned 


DECREE  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY.  175 

thdt  no  rights  are  inviolable,  when  brute  force  is  pre- 
dominant. The  journals,  the  districts,  the  leaders  of 
the  clubs,  were  incessantly  crying  out,  "  We  will  have 
no  more  kings  !"  and  the  Jacobins  resolved  to  lay  upon 
the  "  altar  of  the  fatherland,"  at  the  Champ  de  Mars,  a 
petition  to  this  effect,  for  signatures. 

The  assembly  found  itself  surpassed,  and  returned  to 
Its  monarchial  ideas ;  the  party  headed  by  Barnave, 
Lameth,  and  Duport,  who  had  hitherto  directed  the 
democratic  movement,  united  with  the  centre  ;  all  those 
who  were-  devoted  to  the  constitution  rallied  ;  and  though 
It  was  easy  to  foresee  what  would  be  the  position  of  the 
king,  replaced  upon  his  tottering  throne,  without  respect, 
without  esteem,  and  without  power,  the  majority  hoped 
to  save  the  constitution,  by  saving  the  royal  authority.* 

It  was  decreed  that  the  king  should  be  denied  the 
exercise  of  the  executive  power,  until  the  constitution 
should  be  completed,  and  should  be  presented  for  his  ac- 
ceptation ;  that  at  that  period  his  prerogatives,  his  con- 
stitutional guards,  and  civil  list,  should  be  restored  to 
him  ;  but  if  he  should  retract  his  oath,  if  he  should  put 
himself  at  the  head  of  foreign  armies,  or  should  allow 
war  to  be  declared  in  France  in  his  name,  he  should  be 
considered  as  having  abdicated,  should  fall  into  the  rank 
of  a  simple  citizen,  and  should  be  liable  to  be  brought 
to  judgment  for  acts  undertaken  after  this  abdication. 

The  repu!)licans  were  enraged  at  this  decree,  and  en- 
deavored to  make  the  people  rise;  they  persisted  in 
signing  their  petition,  though  the  resolution  was  now  al- 
ready passed,  and  formed  menacing  assemblies  at  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  where  several  persons  were  massacred, 
(17th  July.)     The  assembly  summoned  the  municipality, 


*  Lavallce. 


176  REPUBLICAN  RIOTS. 

and  enjoined  it  to  use  all  the  means  prescribed  by  law 
to  put  down  the  riots,  and  Bailly  and  Lafayette,  with 
his  national  guards,  repaired  to  the  scene  of  action,  where 
six  thousand  signatures  had  already  been  affixed  to  the 
petition,  and  where  they  were  received  with  insults  and 
abuse.  During  several  hours  they  tried  in  vain  to  ap- 
pease the  mad  multitude,  and  were  at  last  obliged  to 
proclaim  martial  law  ;  but  their  summonses  were  replied 
to  by  hootings  and  a  shower  of  stones,  and  a  pistol-shot 
was  fired  at  Lafayette,  for  now  the  time  was  come  when 
the  former  idols  of  the  people  were  in  their  turn  to  be 
'  broken.  Lafayette  ordered  his  men  to  fire,  and  after 
several  lives  were  lost,  the  crowd  dispersed,  and  the  re- 
publican party  were  for  a  time  intimidated  ;  but  the  na- 
tional guard  soon  began  to  regret  having  fired  upon  the 
people.  Bailly  and  Lafayette  were  held  up  to  execra- 
tion, and  Barnave,  Duport,  and  Lameth,  and  all  moder- 
ate men  in  the  kingdom,  were  included  in  the  same  ha- 
tred with  which  the  members  of  the  Feuillans  and  the 
emigrants  were  regarded. 

The  most  disgusting  feature  in  all  the  ravings  to 
which  these  continual  denunciations  gave  rise,  is  the 
constant  introduction  of  the  words  liberty  and  patriot- 
ism, in  speeches  replete  with  the  grossest  selfishness, 
and  in  which  bloodthirstiness  and  love  of  rapine  are 
conspicuous  in  every  line.  The  love  of  their  fellow- 
citizens,  which  these  men,  for  whom  no  hypocrisy  was 
too  base,  pretended  to  be  the  mover  of  all  their  actions 
and  all  their  words,  looked  very  much  like  the  love  of 
the  vampire  for  the  body  whose  blood  he  hopes  to  suck. 

While  things  were  in  this  state  at  Paris,  the  emi- 
grants, whose  hopes  had  risen  with  the  king's  flight, 
were  struck  with  consternation  when  Monsieur,  his 
brother,  arrived  alone  at  Brussels,  and  they  got  tidings 


DECLARATION  OF  FOREIGN  POWERS.  177 

of  Louis's  arrest.  There  was  now  nothing  to  be  expect- 
ed but  from  the  assistance  of  foreign  powejs,  who  were 
willing  to  lend  their  aid  ;  for  the  principles  set  forth 
by  the  French  revolution  were  of  a  nature  to  enlist  all 
monarchs  against  them. 

The  Emperor,  the  King  of  Prussia,  and  the  Comte 
d'Artois,  met  at  Pilnitz,  where  they  signed  a  treaty  on 
the  27th  of  August,  which  prepared  for  the  invasion  of 
Prance,  and  which  was  followed  by  a  declaration,  where- 
in the  sovereigns,  considering  the  case  of  Louis  XVL 
as  their  own,  demanded  from  France,  on  peril  of  their 
declaring  war  against  the  country,  that  the  king  shouW 
be  liberated,  and  replaced  on  his  throne  ;  that  the  Nation- 
al Assembly  should  be  dissolved  ;  and  that  the  princes  of 
the  empire  having  possessions  in  Alsace,  should  be  re- 
established in  their  feudal  rights.  But  this  declaration, 
far  from  ameliorating  the  king's  position,  only  still  far- 
ther exasperated  the  people  against  him,  and  their  ha- 
tred of  their  own  king  extended  to  all  other  monarchs, 
who  were  denominated  tyrants,  and  were  threatened 
with  having  their  people  revolutionized.  The  assembly 
prepared  for  resistance,  the  frontiers  were  put  in  a  state 
of  defence,  one  hundred  thousand  national  guards  were 
levied,  and  though  a  great  number  of  the  young  officers 
of  the  line  took  their  dismissal,  France  was  not  in  need  of 
defenders,  for,  however  divided  within,  the  revolutionary 
party  had  but  one  mind  as  to  resistance  to  foreign  foes. 

While  occupied  with  these  preparations,  the  assembly 
still  continued  its  legislative  labors,  which  were  now  ap- 
proaching their  termination,  and  the  members  who  were 
weary  and  unsatisfied,  and  the  people  who  longed  for 
novelty  and  new  excitement,  looked  forward  to  this  ter- 
mination with  no  small  degree  of  satisfaction.  It  only 
remained  to  unite  all  the  constitutional  decrees  into  one 


178  CONSTITUTIONAL  DECREES. 

body,  in  order  to  present  them  for  the  acceptance  of 
the  king,  and  then  for  the  members  of  the  assembly  to 
withdraw,  in  accordance  with  the  decree  of  the  1st  May, 
which  declared  that  none  of  the  members  of  the  existing 
assembly  could  enter  into  the  next  one,  or  even  receive  an 
appointment  Aom  the  king.  In  vain  had  Duport  said  on 
that  occasion,  "  Since  we  are  glutted  with  principles, 
how  is  it  that  we  are  not  advised  that  stability  is  also  a 
principle  of  government  1  Shall  we  expose  the  French 
nation,  whose  temper  is  fickle  and  headstrong,  to  a  new 
revolution,  every  two  years,  in  laws  and  in  opinion?" 

It  was  too  late  then  to  speak  of  stability  or  common 
sense  ;  the  fiercest  passions  were  roused  on  all  sides,  and 
the  assembly  bent  before  them,  and  left  the  work  for 
which  they  had  toiled,  and  which  thby  thought  sufficient 
to  reconstitute  the  nation,  to  the  guardianship  of  those 
who,  being  elected  in  the  heat  of  the  revolulionaiy  move- 
ment, could  of  course  only  be  the  representatives  of  the 
fiercest  passions  and  the  worst  feelings  of  the  people. 
It  is  the  fashion  among  French  historians,  to  denomi- 
nate this  renunciation  of  farther  part  in  the  government 
of  the  state,  as  imprudent  generosity ;  it  is  sufficient  to 
point  out  the  folly  of  such  an  act,  to  prove  that  no  mo- 
tives of  generosity  (which,  in  such  a  case  as  this,  could 
only  arise  out  of  criminal  ignorance)  can  possibly  ex- 
cuse it.  Lafayette  and  Bailly  were  not  behindhand  in 
this  rivalship  of  "  generosity,"  but  also  resigned  their 
functions,  when  the  labors  of  the  assembly  were  conclu- 
ded. The  national  guard  of  Paris  was  then  reorganiz- 
ed, and  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  day,  no 
commander-general  was  again  nominated,  but  the  chefs 
de  legion  exercised  by  turns  the  functions  during  one 
month. 

When  the  constitutional  decrees  were  all  collected,  it 


THE  KING  ACCEPTS  THE  CONSTITUTION.  179 

was  suggested  that  they  ought  to  be  revised  ;  but  those 
who  feared  that  alterations  might  be  introduced  which 
they  were  nowise  inclined  to  accept,  protested  vehe- 
mently against  the  revision,  and  the  assembly  was 
obliged  to  content  itself  by  declaring  that  France  had 
the  right  of  reviewing  its  constitution,  but  that  it  would 
be  prudent  not  to  use  that  right  for  thirty  years. 

The  constitutional  act,  when  completed,  was  presented 
to  the  kina^,  who  was  then  restored  to  liberty,  and  re- 
invested with  his  rights.  After  a  few  days'  delibera- 
tion, the  king  wrote  to  the  assembly  :  "  I  accept  the 
cotistitution,  I  pledge  myself  to  defend  it  from  every 
danger  within,  and  against  every  attack  from  without, 
and  to  enforce  its  execution  by  every  means  in  my 
power."  On  the  following  morning  he  went  in  person 
to  the  assembly  to  repeat  his  acceptation  of  a  constitu- 
tion which  he  was  not  in  a  position  to  refuse,  and  the 
respect  which  was  henceforth  to  be  paid  to  the  chief  of 
the  state,  was  shown  to  him,  by  his  chair  being  placed 
on  an  equal  line  with  that  of  the  president,  and  by  the 
assembly  remaining  seated  while  he  got  up  to  address 
them.  For  thus  it  had  been  determined  before  his  ar- 
rival, "  because  the  king  was  only  the  chief  functionary 
of  the  state,  while  they  (the  deputies)  represented  the 
state  itself,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  people."  When 
the  president  in  his  turn  rose  to  reply  to  the  king,  and 
observed  that  the  king  remained  seated,  he  again  sat 
down,  and  delivered  his  speech  in  this  position.  Th«« 
unhappy  Louis,  when  returned  to  the  Tuileries  after 
this  fearful  trial,  sank  down  upon  a  chair,  and  after 
covering  his  face  with  his  hands,  wept  aloud,  while  the 
queen,  throwing  herself  upon  her  knees  before  him,  en- 
circled him  with  her  arms.*     But  the  people  without 

*  Madame  Campan. 


180  THE  CONSTITUENT  ASSEMBLY  DISSOLVED. 

shouted  and  exulted,  every  man  feeling  himself  greater, 
because  a  fellow-man  who  happened  to  be  born  to  a 
throne,  and  to  expectations  of  happiness  and  glory,  had 
been  made  to  ta'ste  the  bitter  cup  of  humiliation  and 
human  misery. 

The  period  between  this  day  and  the  30th  September, 
when  the  National  Assembly  dissolved  itself,  was  taken 
up  by  fttes  and  rejoicings,  in  which  the  unhappy  suf- 
ferers were  obliged  to  play  a  prominent  part.  On  the 
30th,  the  king  again  repaired  to  the  assembly,  to  deliver 
another  hollow  speech,  and  when  he  had  left,  one  of  the 
deputies,  rising,  proclaimed  with  a  powerful  voice,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  the  people  :  "  The  Constituent  As- 
sembly declares  that  its  mission  is  accomplished,  and 
that  it  terminates  at  this  moment  its  sittings." 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


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